Hybrid Chronicles, The
by Elliot Pole
Summary: Seto's nephew has gotten hold of a powerful card called Hybridization, which hybridizes two monsters to create Red Eyes White Dragon.  He yearns to find his uncle, to discover the whereabouts of the two missing Blue Eyes.  THIS IS NOT A STUFIC.
1. Chapter 1

**Hybrid Chronicles, The**

**Chapter the First**

At a dinner party, crowds of people enjoy chatting and prattling about the futility of life. Or rather, the conversations convey sentiments of useless tidbits of gossip, like the tale about the President of General Motors dating Madonna's adopted niece. Everyone knew it wasn't true, but they spoke of it nonetheless.

Two women sit at a round table in the center of the room. One is twenty-seven, with sleek, shiny blond hair. Her dress is violet, to match the color of her eyes. On her neck is a 24-karat necklace, apparently a gift from some suitor. From time to time, she fumbles with her jewelry, a sign of severe apprehension.

The other woman is elderly, with gray hair and a wrinkled face. She has seen much hardship, and her eyes droop. Her gown is a pale yellow, and looking at her makes one feel a great pity for all women, young, old, and in-between.

This latter was the first to speak. "Ziama, I have heard the most breathtaking news, and I regret having to wait 'til tonight to relate it to you."

"What is it, Grandmother?"

"My dear Ziama, your lover—young Kaiba—is feeling suicidal."

At this statement, her companion laughed. "Oh, not Cecil! He would never kill himself! You must be joshing, Grandma."

"Ah, would that I were, Ziama! I hate being the bearer of bad news, but three days ago I heard tell that Cecil Kaiba went to ask his father for permission to sail across the Atlantic and hunt the Great White Beast. Mokuba refused. A row commenced, and then Cecil threatened to take his own life if his father didn't change his mind."

Ziama had started to weep. How could Cecil do this, when he had her? Then the tears came out more profusely, and she was unable to voice this question. All that came out was an incoherent, "owknsealdthtwome?"

"If this were not enough," continued the old woman, "it was discovered that Cecil was found in a room with a loaded pistol, and he had planned to pull the trigger. The gun was aimed at his neck, and he would've succeeded, had some friend of his not come in to stop him."

The young woman pulled at her necklace with such a tight grip that it snapped cleanly in two. When she realized what she had done, her crying became greater in volume than previously. A couple of kind-hearted youths came and asked her what was the matter. Ziama'sgrandmother shrugged them off, giving them some false story about the woman being extremely sensitive to onions. Then the old lady took the broken necklace from Ziama's hands. A few minutes later, Ziama was alone at the ball.

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"I have decided to give you the card you desire."

Cecil blinked. Was his father serious? Give him the Hybrid card, which he had begged and begged for? That card was perhaps the most powerful that Kaiba Corporation had ever created, since KC took over Industrial Illusions.

"Yes," Mokuba told his son, seeing his surprise delineated in his countenance. "The Hybrid card. But I think its also time I gave you something else, too." He handed his son a card, face-down.

The young man turned it over. "Blue Eyes White Dragon!" he exclaimed.

"Of course. Cecil, when your uncle died in that terrible plane crash near the Rockies, we noticed that his will designated you as the successor of the Blue Eyes. There was a whole lawsuit concerning this line in the will, since you were only seven years old at the time. Both sides were very heated, but my brother's will remained unaltered in the end. It was decided that on your twenty-first birthday, you would became the rightful owner. So, here it is, son!"

"But…weren't there three Blue Eyes?"

Mokuba frowned. "That's the strangest thing of the whole deal, my boy. Only one Blue Eyes was found. The other two appear to have vanished into thin air, as the saying goes. Some individuals in the lawsuit were accused of actually stealing the other Blue Eyes for themselves. But to this day, their whereabouts are unknown. However, all of the Duel Disks are activated in such a manner that if anybody plays Blue Eyes, the world will know."

"That's incredibly disappointing…But what if I play Blue Eyes, father? Won't everyone know then as well?"

"There's a simple way around that, Cecil." Mokuba paused, while his son waited, anticipating the answer. "You are forbidden from playing the card." This was said in a tone of such finality that it was suggestive that it would be a great error to question it.

But Cecil Kaiba was never sensitive to tones, and he was weary of his father's rules. "Then why give it to me if I can't play it?"

"Seto wanted it to be given to his nephew. However, the card is rated WC-198; in other words, it is within the top two hundred most powerful cards without a cost. And any card on that list is immediately forbidden."

"But aren't Kaibas exempt from rules about forbidden cards?"

"Yes; that may be, but you still can't play it, without breaking your filial duty to me, your father," Mokuba said, appealing to a side of Cecil that did not even exist.

"How about fulfilling my filial duty to my uncle? There must've been some reason he wanted me to have Blue Eyes…and what better reason than to play it?"

"Next your going to tell me you'll be drinking tea with Naomi Motou, Yugi's daughter! And if you ask for my permission to do that, I'll tie you to a chair and prevent you from going! About the card: my orders are that you will not play it, no matter what. Is that clear?"

Cecil was infuriated. "I am twenty-one years old, Father, and therefore I believe I'm my own master. If I wanted to drink tea with Naomi, I wouldn't ask for your blessing. And if I want to summon Blue Eyes in a duel, I'll do so. You no longer can constrain me!" Having said this, Cecil stormed out.

Mokuba was troubled. Who knew that a single card could cause so much pain, possibly rip the family apart? Of course, Cecil had always had a hot temper…a lot more like Seto than his father. Since that day thirteen years ago when Seto had plunged to his death, Mokuba had felt a lack of guidance in life, and it had been very difficult to raise Cecil. In some ways, he was glad to see his brother in his son. It almost felt as though a piece of Seto was still on this earth. His greatest fear was that he would lose Cecil as well, and he knew Blue Eyes White Dragon would give his son an unquenchable thirst for adventure. The best he could do was bar his son from playing it, even though this was futile.

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There was a knock at Cecil's door. "What is it?"

"Excuse me, sir, but I brought you the Hybridization card," said a mild, glassy voice.

"Oh, it's you Reginald. Come in," Kaiba said, very tense because he was still upset with his father.

A meek man, with a bald pate and a forked moustache, sauntered into the room. He wore a purple vest, with white stockings. Reginald extended his arm, handing Cecil the precious card. "I hope it is satisfactory."

Cecil read the effect. It was perfectly in order, and he assured the valet of this. "Would you like to stay for tea?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I have a date for tea with Miss Naomi Motou."

They both laughed.

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A cocky fellow with a bad hair-do had just come out of a tournament and was congratulating himself. "Suckers!" he shouted at the other seven people in the top 8.

"I'd say you're the loser, buddy," said a man in a cloak that was as black as night.

"Who's talking? I didn't see you in the tournament."

"I am Snowgrass, and I thought it'd be a good time to test my dueling skills."

"Fine. Name's Nolez. And I'm up for a duel. But here's the thing: When you duel Nolez, you make a risk. And if you lose, you must relinquish your entire deck to Nolez."

"I accept."

"Then let the game…begin!"

4000/4000

"Nolez always goes first, and this is no exception. I draw, and summon Saggi the Dark Clown!" A harlequin with too much make-up, and covered in dabs of black and purple, appeared on the field. It was merely a Jester out of the King's Court. "Then I set two cards face-down, and end my turn."

Snowgrass started his turn by summoning Mataza the Zapper, a green warrior who looked like the Jolly Green Midget, compared to its Brobdingnagian counterpart. It carried a leak for combat.

"Mataza, attack Saggi with all your force!"

Nolez shook his head. "Like I'd let that happen, Snowgrass. I activate Mortification! This spell card only affects three types of monsters. You see, it's like a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, except…different. The three monster types Mortification targets are: Spellcaster, Warrior, and Dragon. Spellcasters are Superior to Warriors, Warriors are superior to Dragons, and Dragons are superior to Spellcasters. Nolez knows things that would astound you! He he he!"

A force field enveloped Saggi, as Mataza the Zapper rushed toward it with her leak. A mirror image of Mataza was seen for a split-second, and the reflection attacked Snowgrass' Life Points. "What happened?" he asked, dazed.

"Why, it's simple, Nolez knows! Mortification forces the losing party to take damage equal to the ATK points of the monster affected by it. Because Saggi is superior—being a Spellcaster—you took the damage of Mataza's attack. But never fear: Nolez knows your pain!"

2700/4000

Snowgrass set a face-down, and ended his turn.

"Perfect!" Nolez exclaimed, when he drew his card. "I summon Norgi, the Light Clown!"

The new monster was a lot like Saggi, except instead of blue and purple, Norgi was heavy with yellow and red.

Norgi the Light Clown  
LV 3/ LIGHT/ Spellcaster  
ATK: 500 DEF: 250  
This monster cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This monster can only be Special Summoned if there is a face-up 'Saggi the Dark Clown' on your side of the field. Treat all Equip Spell Cards equipped to any monster with 'Saggi the Dark Clown' in its card name as if those cards were equipped to this monster also.

"Nolez proudly equips Saggi's Archery Arsenal to, who else, Saggi the Dark Clown! And thanks to Norgi's Special Ability, he gets the effect as well!"

Saggi's Archery Arsenal  
Equip Spell  
This card can only be equipped to 'Saggi the Dark Clown.' A monster equipped with this card can attack your opponent's Life Points directly.

"Both Saggi and Norgi attack you directly!"

Mataza jumped aside as her master was blasted with the weapons of the dual clowns, cackling while he was at their mercy.

1400/4000

Snowgrass began his turn, knowing that he was in great danger of losing the duel when Nolez went again. But he drew "Mystical Space Typoon, to destroy your face-down!"

"Nolez thought you'd try that, and so Nolez activates his face-down, Rageki Break! By discarding one insignificant card from his hand, Nolez can destroy one card on your side of the field. And he chooses Mataza the Zapper!"

"Oh, no!" Snowgrass shouted, feigning exasperation.

Snowgrass was now monster-less. "I guess I'll just have to, activate Hybridization!"

"Nolez has never heard of that card, and Nolez knows every card by heart. Explain yourself, Snowgrass."

"Oh, I have some affiliation with Kaiba Corp and Industrial Illusions, and Hybridization is one of their latest developments. But think not that it has anything to do with Polymerization, although it is similar. Two monsters unite to become one. And now you're about to witness the first time this card ever will be played, when I hybridize two of two rivals in the game. For the two monsters I wish to hybridize are…Red Eyes Black Dragon and Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Nolez' eyes widened after he heard this declaration. "Then you must be, Mokuba Kaiba's boy."

"That be me!" Cecil laughed as he threw his cloak behind him. The silhouettes of Blue Eyes and Red Eyes were set against the orange October moon. This duel took place at nighttime. "And now meet, Red Eyes White Dragon!"

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A team of computer programmers was casually watching their screens when someone shouted, "Alert! Alert!"

The person who had thus shouted was Carrie McCullers, and everyone recognized her voice because she was very nosy and got into everybody's business. She was obnoxious and vexatious, aggravating and ubiquitous. You couldn't hide anything from Carrie.

"What is it, Carrie?" the head programmer asked her, politely, because if one did not humor Miss McCullers, they might not have a job the next day.

"Someone has just played Blue Eyes White Dragon in Sector 14, Little Ridge Town."

"Let me see," said the chief programmer, in a tone of incredulity.

Carrie called up the image she was referring to. The chief programmer smiled sardonically. "That's just Kaiba's boy. He's exempt from our search for Blue Eyes."

"But isn't it illegal to play it in the first place?" Carrie asked, desperately. "Isn't it a violation of WC-193 or something?"

"WC-198, I am told. But again, Kaiba is excused from this penalty. According to the International Code of Dueling, any person who bears the surname of Kaiba is allowed to play absolutely any card he or she so desires. They do not have to comply to the rules, as you and I do. And if you alert me about a Kaiba again, Carrie 'Hot-Shot' McCullers, I ensure you that you will not ever see the inside of a KC laboratory again after that."

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The first Hybrid monster ever created now stood in the middle of the field. It had a white coat, but with a very dark tint to it. It was scalier than Blue Eyes, and its red eyes were the size of doorknobs. No monster ever looked more intimidating, not even the Egyptian gods back in Seto Kaiba's day.

"Allow me to explain about Hybridization. Any two monsters can be hybridized, and the new monster formed has an ATK equal to half the combined attack power of the monsters who were hybridized. For example, if we hybridized Dark Magician and Drillroid, the new monster would have and ATK of 2050. So my dear pet Red Eyes White Dragon has an attack power of 2700! And I have him attack your Saggi! So long now!"

REWD flared up as he launched his pitiless attack on the poor dwarfish clown. Saggi held up his archery as a defense, but the attack went right through this ersatz shield and blasted the clown to smithereens.

1400/2500

"I end my turn!" Cecil said, triumphantly.

At that precise moment, the earth shook, as a new monster appeared on Nolez' side of the field. It was Goldd, Wu Lord of Dark World. He had discarded it by the effect of Rageki Break, and now it had returned to rumble.

"Nolez likes the card he just drew. In fact, he likes it so much, that he'll play it right now! But first, a little change is in order. Nolez hopes young Kaiba is aware that there is a storm watch going on right now, and even though the dark sky appears to be free of any hazards, even meteorologists can be wrong sometimes. And so, without further ado, Nolez activates Heavy Storm!"

Cecil's single face-down was swept away with the winds.

"Now that that nuisance is out of the way, Nolez will play the card he just drew! Nolez sacrifices both Norgi the Light Clown and Goldd in order to summon the one, the only, Ultimate Obedient Fiend!"

Ultimate Obedient Fiend was the same shade of bright red as Slifer the Sky Dragon. His ATK is 3500, a whopper.

"My monster attacks your Red Eyes White Dragon!"

"There's still time to call off your attack, Nolez. Only, you're making a big mistake."

"Says you. Nolez is destroying your only monster, and reducing your Life Points, and you say Nolez is making a big mistake? Nolez refuses to call Obedient Fiend's attack off."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Cecil said to himself.

Ultimate Obedient Fiend dug his jaws into REWD's neck. You could feel the tension if you had witnessed the duel. Red Eyes White began to bleed. Then it vanished in a puff of smoke.

0600/2500

Nolez looked very pleased with himself, until he saw the impossible. Red Eyes White was gone, but in its place stood Red Eyes Black Dragon and Blue E yes White. What was worse, they were very angry. And what was worse than that: they were attacking him!

"White Lightning! Inferno Fire Blast!" Cecil shouted at the top of his lungs.

0600/0000

"But, how could Nolez lose?" Cecil's opponent asked, as the monsters vanished from sight. "Nolez had everything under control. Nolez doesn't understand!" And he shook his head very rapidly, as if demons were flaying him.

"Simple," said Kaiba. "I purposefully left out a minor detail. You see, whenever a Hybrid monster is destroyed, the two monsters that formed it are automatically Special Summoned, if they were in the Graveyard. Then, they both attack the opponent directly. There is nothing either player can do to stop this direct attack. You have lost 5400 Life Points, when you only had 2500 to spare."

"That card is dangerous. It should have a cost."

"Well, it doesn't. At least, mine doesn't. And since you lost the duel, Nolez, I do not have to pay your victory prize, which I believe was my deck. However, you, having lost, owe me something. What I desire, is your Norgi the Light Clown."

"Well, you can't have it!" Nolez started to run.

The hologram? of Red Eyes White Dragon stood in Nolez' pathway. It would not let him past. "I would've gladly given you my deck had you lost, boy. Now, hand over Norgi or this will not be pretty."

"Never! Nolez does not obey Kaibas!"

"Who holds your allegiance? Yugi Motou? But," Cecil sneered, "you can have it your way. I'll just flip a coin to decide your fate."

"Is Nolez supposed to believe that Kaiba thinks he can control Nolez' future?"

"Are you from Missouri? It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not. Now, let's see…Heads is Chiron the Mage; tails is Breaker the Magical Warrior. So, Chiron and you can die by being eaten alive by dinosaurs, Breaker and you can enjoy a nice hot, flame-filled journey to death. And here it goes!"

Nolez was fretting about now. What if Kaiba really intended to kill him? If he was anything like his uncle, Kaiba wouldn't hesitate. But it had to be some kind of legerdemain or sleight-of-hand.

"Breaker. Guess you'll have to take the heat. I summon Blazing Impachi." A tree that was on fire was glowing boldly against the night sky. "My dear friend Nolez, for the last time, will you listen to reason and hand over my desideratum, namely Norgi the Light Clown? Or will you have to suffer a most painful death?"

"Nolez will give Kaiba the card! All right?" He searched his deck for it, and handed it to Cecil, who quickly put it in his vest pocket.

"Now can you release Nolez?"

"I'm afraid not, buddy. You haven't yet hugged Blazing Impachi, who came all the way from the Dominion of the Beasts just to see you."

"You're joking, right?"

Cecil wore a grim smile. "No, of course not. I really think you two ought to become acquainted. Just step forth a little. Now, Red Eyes White will shock you." As he said this, REWD attacked Nolez as if he were a duel monster. This frightened Nolez and he ran into Impachi, cracked his skull on the scorching bark, and fell to the ground with a clatter. Flames from Blazing Impachi climbed up Nolez' clothes as if they were made of silk threads. Man, deck, and Duel Disk all burned to ashes, and not a trace remained of them twenty minutes later. Then the not so hologrammic Red Eyes White Dragon and Blazing Impachi disappeared from the field.

"One down. Five thousand more to go," Cecil Kaiba said to himself.


	2. Between Charybdis and Scylla

**Hybrid Chronicles, The**

**Chapter the Second**

Between Charybdis and Scylla, _the all-new booster set to be released by Industrial Illusions on July 7. Includes the legendary Hybridization card, which will completely revolutionize how we play the game! Duel Monsters will soon be elevated to a whole new level, not seen since the day Yugi Motou made his debut in the outstanding match against Seto Kaiba!_

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It was June 30, and Cecil Kaiba had been gone for three months. He was labeled as a DMIA, Duelist Missing in Action. The "Action" in this acronym referred to the expansion of the Kaiba Corporation facilities to countries such as Morocco and Sri Lanka. The first shipments of the new booster set were to be made today, so that the stores could have them ready to sell immediately at midnight on the seventh. Card fans predicted that boosters would be sold like hot cakes, because the Hybridization card was desired by every man, woman, and child who had ever touched a Duel Monsters card. Only one in 500 packs contained one, and you were almost guaranteed to become a top-ranking duelist if you pulled a Hybridization.

Entire decks would have to be constructed in order to make Hybridization become a bane for the user rather than a boon. Weaknesses of the card included the 1500 Life Point cost, and the fact that the monsters used in to create the hybrid had to be in the Graveyard.

Mokuba was busy having a mid-morning snack of apples and cider, when the delivery boy came to him with a letter. He paid the lad, and stared at the envelope for several minutes before opening it. There was no return address.

**DEAR FATHER,**

It has come to my attention that you intend to print the Hybridization card in an upcoming booster set, which sources tell me is called _Between Charybdis and Scylla_, a truly apt name. However, believe me when I say the card is dangerous. By printing it you run the risk of ruining the company forever.

If it is printed, if no one else does, I will make sure you regret doing so. In the three months' of my absence, I have gained powers the like of which you've never seen, even in the days of your travels with my uncle and Yugi Motou. Father or no, it makes no difference. Do as I say and don't publish the card, and you'll never have to worry again. Disobey me and print it, and you'll never see the light of day, except when I need you, which will be rarely.

You may be dubious about my conviction that the Hybridization card is dangerous. To witness firsthand what I am talking about, test it against Geido. I sincerely hope that doing so will show you what I mean.

THE ONE AND ONLY,  
Cecil Kaiba  
**_P.S. I will not disclose my whereabouts. I have good reason for withholding this information, and the only way you'll see me anytime soon is if you print Hybridization. It will not be a pleasant encounter._**Mokuba's first impression was shock. His son had threatened him! His own flesh and blood!

Then he thought about Cecil's proposition. Don't print Hybridization. Right now, Mokuba felt like he was from Missouri. It was just a card; how could it be dangerous? But he did remember seeing the destructive power of the Egyptian gods. Perhaps Cecil was telling the truth. There was one way to find out: duel Geido.

Geido was KaibaCorp's dueling robot. He was used to test new cards, when no human opponents could be found, and as far as Mokuba knew, he had not been used since a few days before Cecil disappeared. The bad thing about dueling Geido is that it was common knowledge what his deck contained, eliminating the element of surprise. Therefore, a sentient adversary was always preferable when wishing to test cards.

Mokuba entered the storeroom, where Geido was, with all of his circuits wired in the Company's autonomic control panel. Geido had two phenotypes. One was an android, which had blue arms, legs, and head, with triangular slits for eyes, a Cupid's-bow mouth, and a streak of purple running down his torso. His other form was rather rotund, with spindly little wires for probes, used to pick up cards when dueling.

Geido was currently in his latter form. He was hooked up to a large white screen, with red and blue wires running to and fro between his body and the main circuit, which was around a pillar. The pillar was actually an optical illusion; but it was a vivid illusion, and even Mokuba, who had seen it several times, couldn't help imagining that it was real.

Mokuba headed toward the pillar in order to get all the circuits together so that Geido could be programmed and ready to duel. However, he tripped over a white cord on the way over. His curiosity aroused, he followed the cord with his eyes to see where it led to.

"The Information Super Highway? Why is it going there?" he wondered.

Shaking his head, he turned his back on the oddity and went to work on the circuits. It would soon be too late to stop the shipment of the new booster sets, and if Cecil was right about the danger of Hybridization, Mokuba had to know straight away.

-Geido, all set for duel.

Mokuba took his place twenty feet away, and said the proverbial, "It's time to duel!"

4000/4000

"It's my turn first, and I summon Lucky Star Warrior!" A tiny man in blue armor, with a yellow, five-point star on his breast, now stood on Mokuba's side of the field. "I can now roll two six-sided die, and if the sum of the numbers on the two die equals seven, you lose 700 Life Points! So, here it goes!"

Lucky Star grew seven times his normal size, bringing him to about 3.5 ft. tall. Two purple dice fell out of the star, and spun very rapidly, then stopped quite suddenly. One was a five, the other a two.

4000/3300

"That concludes my turn."

-Processing…Play Rain of Mercy…Summon Rusty Gadget. Attack Lucky Star.

4800/4100

Rusty Gadget  
LV 4/Machine/EARTH  
ATK: 1500 DEF: 750  
Effect: This monster cannot be Special Summoned. This monster can only be Normal Summoned during a turn in which the Spell Card 'Rain of Mercy' was activated. When this monster does Battle Damage to your opponent, it is equal to the original ATK of this card.

Rusty Gadget was exactly what his name implied: a Machine covered with iron oxide. Its appearance was similar to that of statue from the Bronze Age. In its arms was a powerful trident, which it raised twelve feet over its head with its elastic arms, and went after the unfortunate blue man whose star was not large enough to protect him.

3300/4100

"My go," said Mokuba. "I Set one Monster and two face-down cards. That's all for now."

-Summon Mechanicalchaser. Attack face-down with Rusty Gadget.

The face-down monster was a small rabbit with a patch over its eye. "You triggered a chain! First, I activate Penguin Swindle, then Compulsory Evacuation Device. They resolve in the reverse order of course, and I choose to send Mechanicalchaser back to your hand." A woman was seen on a wharf. She was calling "Mechanicalchaser! Mechanicalchaser!" in a voice so compelling that the machine could not resist obeying it. "Now Penguin Swindle goes through. Whenever a face-down monster on my side of the field is flipped face-up, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster with 'Penguin' in its card name from my Hand or Deck. And I choose to summon Penguin Soldier!"

Rusty Gadget destroyed Blade Rabbit with his relentless trident, and all that was left now on Mokuba's side of the field was a bluish penguin yielding a sword, pitilessly brandishing it in front of its face, in case Geido's monster decided to attack it.

-Turn terminated.

"Good! Now I sacrifice Penguin Soldier in order to summon Tri-Footed Penguin!" Tri-Footed stood seven feet tall. It was a dark shade of black, wore funny spectacles, and had three legs, one in the back where a tail was present in most birds, making it resemble a stool. "Tri-Footed, attack Rusty Warrior with Subzero Water Slide!"

A blizzard appeared, and with it, an icy pathway directly between Tri-Footed and Geido's monster. Rusty Gadget was stiff as a board; his trident didn't even twirl. The penguin put himself on the ice pathway one foot at a time. When the third foot was finally on, he moved so fast you would've thought you were watching a NASCAR race. In a second, he was in front of the Gadget, thrashing, and slashing (with his gruesome feathers), and even pecking a little. All this time Geido's monster stood by stoically as it was destroyed.

3300/3400

"Your move now, Geido."

-Processing…Fissure. Destroys Monster with lowest ATK. Tri-Footed cleared…Summon Mechanicalchaser. Attack directly.

1450/3400

-Activate Umi. Set one face-down. Complete turn.

A giant sea inundated the storeroom floor. Mechanicalchaser was weakened by 200 ATK points. Had Mokuba been at full awareness and not pondering so much about Hybridization, he would've suspected that Geido was malfunctioning. What duelist would play a card that would intentionally weaken his monsters? Especially when that duelist was a robot programmed to play at his optimum level…But Mokuba's mind was on other matters, and this detail escaped him.

Oh, no! Mokuba thought. Now I don't have enough Life Points to play Hybridization. I have it in my hand, but there's only one card I can think of right now that can allow me to do what I came for.

"Yes! I drew it! And I'm willing to thank you, Geido, for without you I'd never be able to pull this off. By destroying Tri-Footed with a Spell card, you forced both of us to draw two cards. One of them I needed. Here is the other: Spell Economics! This allows me to play any spell without paying any cost in Life Points. And, now, the moment I've been waiting for!" Mokuba felt as if his desire to play the card had increased to an insatiable hunger. He believed that he had always wanted to play it, ever since he oversaw the creation of the first one, and heard its effect. "I activate Hybridization to combine Neo the Magic Swordsman and Cave Dragon together to create…Neo the Cave Swordsman!"

The new monster resembled Neo the Magic Swordsman in many ways. He had green armor and humanlike features. However, his body was expanded to make him look like a Neanderthal in all but face. He was also rather stony, with hair made of gravel. His sword was heavy; he was staggering under its weight.

Neo the Cave Swordsman's ATK: 2000(0.5) + 1700(0.5) 1850

"Neo, attack Mechanicalchaser!"

It was a sight to see the sluggish warrior lift his burden, and swing it at the Machine who was already damaged because of the swirling waves around it. Neo glided on the ocean surface, because he was dragonic in nature despite his warrior blood. Oddly, the sword seemed to get lighter and lighter as he whammed it into Mechanicalchaser again and again for six successive rounds. Then only Mokuba's monster remained on the field.

1450/3200

"I set one face-down, and end my turn!"

-Analyzing Field…Activate Copycat. Select Hybridization for Copycat's effect. Pay 1500 Life Points. Hybridize Green Gadget and Gyroid.

1450/1700

To Mokuba, the sight before his eyes was miraculous. The actual fact was unexpected and peculiar; Geido had never played Copycat before. In fact, the only person Mokuba had ever see play it was Joey Wheeler, a friend of Yugi Motou. He did not want to think of Yugi right now, for they were in the middle of a quarrel that had started fourteen years ago.

What was miraculous was the scene. The two monsters Geido had chosen are incompatible by all beliefs, values, and constitutions. Yes, they were both machines. However, to see gadget and Vehicroid combine was like seeing a bull mate with a human female. They meshed together with some resistance from both sides. Green Gadget pushed Gyroid's propellers away from him, and Gyroid tried to bite his pursuant, as he saw the Gadget as. Then a rainbow arch was created, and reflected in the ocean's bright waves. Finally, Geido's monsters were hybridized. The product looked more like Gyroid, with a green hue. He had a few other similarities with the Gadget, but not very noticeable ones.

Verdant Gyroid's ATK: (1000)(0.5) + (1400)(0.5) 1200 – 200 for Umi's effect, for 1000

-Verdant Gyroid attack Neo.

He's going to attack me with a monster weaker than my own? What's he thinking of? Mokuba thought. And then it dawned on him. Hybridization! Whenever his monster is destroyed, I'll take 2400 points of direct damage! Too bad I'm one step ahead of Geido!

"Activate my face-down card, Offerings to the Doomed! And I choose to destroy my own Neo the Cave Swordsman!"

-Chain face-down Mystical Space Typhoon.

"Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!" Mokuba shouted. Now Geido would win the duel. Not that it really mattered. Just a possible dampening of his own self-image, that's all.

-Destroy Umi.

"Huh? Why did he do that?" Mokuba asked himself. The ocean disappeared, and Verdant Gyroid's ATK rose to 1200.

Offerings to the Doomed resolved. For a second, Mokuba saw his Hybrid monster burn in flames. Then the two creatures that had formed it reappeared, and attacked Geido directly, after a nod of their heads at one another.

1450/0000

Now that the test run was over, Mokuba began ruminating over Kaiba's letter, to discern what he meant by saying Hybridization was dangerous.

-Geido will self-destruct in ten…nine…eight…seven…

Mokuba sprinted from the storeroom, and was forty feet down the hall when he heard the explosion and saw the door fall flat on its hinges. He retraced his steps and peered in. All that remained of Geido was a flattened piece of metal with the number combination 47J. It had once been part of a license plate.

Later, Mokuba saw Reginald speaking to a subordinate. "And don't let me catch you slacking off again, or your father will use his job as head of Slifer Dorm at Duel Academy. You wouldn't want that now, would you?"

"No!" said the teenager, crying.

"Then be off with ye!" Reginald liked sounding as if he came from the seventeenth century sometimes.

"Reginald," Mokuba said, austerely, as the boy ran past him, "I need you to halt all shipments of _Between_ _Charybdis and Scylla _booster packs. We must postpone sending them until we have removed all the Hybridization cards."

"Mr. Kaiba, you should've told me this earlier. 50,000 BCS booster packs are already on their way to stores as we speak, and 170,000 are just about to leave KaibaCorp," Reginald said.

"So it's too late? Is there nothing we can do?"

"To get back the shipments already sent is an impossibility, and the ones about to go are already checked out; in other words, we cannot stall them. So that's about 440 Hybridization cards already gone, that will have some happy owner within the next fortnight." Reginald raised his brow at Mokuba. "But, Mr. Kaiba, why do you want to keep the Hybridization cards held back? If you do that, many people may never touch a Duel Monsters card ever again. We've been promising our customers a top-quality card, and if no one gets it, the demand for our product drops. If the demand drops, we lose sales. If we lose sales, we'll lose money in advertising to increase interest in Duel Monsters. Eventually, KaibaCorp will fall to ruins. We'll be forgotten in the mists of successful game-producing history. Remember what happened to Brinkletop."

"What was Brinkletop?"

"No one knows. Well, we know it was a game, very popular in the nineteenth century. It was like a trading card game in that new pieces were produced yearly. The company that made Brinkletop was very popular. One day they announced they were going to release an invincible piece that would totally wreck an opponent's nerves and almost guarantee victory. The legendary piece never was released. Brinkletop was never heard of again, except as an example for what gamemakers should not do."

Mokuba heard this, and felt a little flabbergasted. He could not sacrifice Duel Monsters' popularity and make it another Brinkletop. But what about the potential danger of the card? He decided to tell Reginald the entire story, leaving out only what he thought unnecessary.

"…and so I have my suspicions that the Hybridization card I played caused Gaido to self-destruct."

Throughout Mokuba's tale, Reginald was patient and never interrupted once. Now it was time to give him evaluation. "Mr. Kaiba, sir, I do not believe that Hybridization caused Geido to explode. There are two cards he used that could've caused it. One was Rain of Mercy, and the other was Umi. Now, to you and I, these cards are just holograms, but in my studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I learned that robots actually 'feel' and are affected by these holograms, not as you and I are affected by rainbows or a poignant painting, but as we are affected by tangible things like snow and mud. Thus, when Geido played those cards, he caused himself to malfunction. Rain of Mercy was bad enough, but Umi? That was suicide."

"Do you think somebody programmed Geido to play those cards?"

"Mr. Kaiba, sir, if I told you what I think, you'd send me to the psychiatrist."

Mokuba thought a moment, then said, "One thing that really puzzles me is that he destroyed Umi with Mystical Space Typhoon instead of my Offerings to the Doomed."

"I have both a simple and a complex solution to that conundrum. The simple one is that by playing Umi, Geido had harmed his reasoning capacity, and did not play with the best strategies with his available resources. The complex theory ought to be saved for another day."

"Yes; I agree." Mokuba glanced at his watch. "Oh, I have a meeting at three o' clock. I'll see you later Reginald."

Mokuba purposefully forgot to tell Reginald that his son had threatened to kill him.


	3. Surprise, Surprise

**Hybrid Chronicles, The**

**Chapter the Third**

It is a sandy region, the middle of a desert, possibly the Sahara. Two duelists were in the middle of a match. One could be clearly seen, with his long, purple hair, squirrel-like face, and shaking hands. The other was cloaked. It was the latter duelist's turn, and he had no monsters on the field.

"I summon Kaibaman! Then I sacrifice him, in order to summon…Blue Eyes White Dragon!" His voice was deep and confident.

The purple-haired duelist had a Fiend Megacyber on his side of the field, and one face-down. "Nobody has played Blue Eyes in over fourteen years," he said, his voice high and shaky. "You must be that snotty-nosed brat, Cecil."

His opponent had not removed his cloak at this declaration. "We'll see who's the snotty-nosed brat," he said to himself. "White Lightning!"

"Not so fast," said the purple-haired dude. "I activate Mirror Force."

"Oh well. I guess that means Blue Eyes is just going to be destroyed. Dearest me, what is a guy to do? How about activating my Quick-Play Spell, Glitch in the Mirror? That should work fine, wouldn't you think?"

Glitch in the Mirror  
Quick-Play Spell  
You can only activate this card in response to Mirror Force, when both you and your opponent each only have one monster on the field. Negate Mirror Force's effect and both you and your opponent can Special Summon a monster with the same names as those already on the field, from your Hand or Deck.

The purple-haired duelist was exasperated. "Damn! My foolproof plan backfired. But at least your card permits me to summon another Fiend Megacyber, whereas you are stuck with your single Blue Eyes. Too bad."

"Who ever said I only had one Blue Eyes?" queried the cloaked duelist, his eyes glaring in indignation.

"But…but, the other two Blue Eyes are missing! You can't have obtained them!"

"Maybe this will prove otherwise." Another Blue Eyes White Dragon stood by its brother.

"You are the owner of the two Blue Eyes! Then you can't be Cecil Kaiba; so, who are you?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carrie McCullers was keeping a close eye on Sector 312, in which she noticed the duel between the purple-haired duelist and the cloaked mystery man.

At first it did not seem like anything worth observing. But she stuck to it because she had learnt in her profession to distrust cloaked men, and this feeling had never left her; it was drilled deep into her natural instinct now.

When she saw the cloaked man play Blue Eyes White Dragon, Carrie was convinced it was Cecil Kaiba, just like the purple-haired duelist.

However, the summoning of the second Blue Eyes alarmed her. This man was the current owner of the two missing BEWD that had caused bedlam at KaibaCorp more than fourteen years before. Hopefully, he would reveal himself. Carrie thought of alerting the other computer programmers, but they were all so dull-witted and apathetic, and she didn't want the Chief Programmer to give her a tirade and her one-way ticket out of a job. So she kept her mouth shut, sealed, and locked, an amazing feat for anyone who knew Carrie McCullers.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're right; I'm not Cecil. But I am a Kaiba. Take a good look at me, and see if you can't guess who I am." He tossed off his cloak.

"Seto Kaiba! But that's impossible! You're dead!"

"That's funny. I don't feel dead." He was forty-nine years old, but he did not look a day over thirty.

"But…the plane crash! It was in the papers, on the radio, heck, they even made a movie about it, Death of an Entrepreneur."

"And yet no body was ever found. What do they think happened? That Seto Kaiba disintegrated into thin air? I survived. Pegasus was not so lucky; his body must've been found, for I saw his lifeless form before I went to my own devices."

"Why did you not return to KaibaCorp?" asked the purple-haired duelist.

"I chose not to. I preferred to let Mokuba run the company; he was always ready to be in control; I thought faking my death would allow him to do just that."

"And where have you been these fourteen years?"

"I went to Egypt, following a road similar to the one Maximilian Pegasus followed when he was younger. I had hoped to discover something new about Duel Monsters, that neither he, nor Solomon Motou, nor Professor Arthur Hawkins had ever known."

"And did you?"

"Yes. But it does not concern you," Seto said, condescendingly. "We're in the middle of a duel. You have 1500 Life Points left, and both my Blue Eyes were about to attack your Fiend Megacybers. White Lightning!"

The purple-haired duelist fell prone to the ground, and let out a huge groan. Kaiba stared at him for a second, then picked up his cloak and walked into the shifting sandstorm that had just started.

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Naomi Motou was eighteen, though small for her age. Unlike her father, her hair was sleek and combed straight down, though it was made of the same shades of black, yellow, and red. From Yugi, she had learnt the Heart of the Cards, how to be kind, and caring, and to never give up. From her mother, Rebecca (daughter of Professor Arthur Hawkins), Naomi had learned various things about particle physics, Russian literature, how to differentiate limits, a smattering of World History, and a plethora of other intellectual things. Rebecca Motou was a genius. Some wit had said that a woman would have to be a genius to win Yugi's heart, since he was not attracted to many women that most men would've died for. One Vivian Some-Surname-or-Other was probably responsible for the quip.

Yugi had actually come very close to marrying his friend, Tea. But she was really in love with Atem, the Pharoah who had once co-inhabited Yugi's body. He could not marry a girl who did not love him. Besides, she was a dancer, and truth be told, Yugi did not like dancing. She wasn't even a duelist, really. In short, they were completely incompatible. Marrying her would've been only to repay a debt he owed her from the time when she won the star chips from Mai Valentine that allowed him to be a finalist at Duelist Kingdom and emerge as the King of Games.

Rebecca was a different story. She was a duelist, and she had hated Atem ever since he had permitted Yugi to let the Seal of Orichalcos take him in the Pharoah's place. She was eight years his junior, but it didn't make a difference. Rebecca Hawkins grew more beautiful when she reached her teens, and when she turned twenty-one, with a Bachelor's Degree in just about every subject you can imagine, she and Yugi got hitched.

It was a spectacular event. All of Yugi's friends showed up. Duke Devlin and Tristan had a quarrel over who Serenity Wheeler liked best, just like in old times. Actually, Serenity was set to marry a wealthy landowner named Quirsle.

Perhaps the two happiest people at the wedding (other than the bride and groom themselves) were Solomon Motou and Professor Arthur Hawkins. They were at last to see their two families joined in holy matrimony, and forever tied together by a connubial bond. If either of them were to die soon, he would die contentedly, for the Motou-Hawkins line would be sealed.

Indeed, Solomon Motou sadly passed away the following December, leaving his grandson the sole owner of the game store that had belonged to Solomon ever since his return from Egypt in 1961. Joey probably wept the loudest at the funeral; the old man had taught him how to duel and had essentially made him into the man he was.

In effect, Naomi never met her paternal great-grandfather, though Arthur Hawkins himself played a huge role in her upbringing. She was somewhat hurt that her father had never chosen her as his heir; although she was only three years old when Yugi picked out fourteen-year-old Jaden Yuki, and gave him a Winged Kuriboh.

For a long time, Naomi thought it was because she was a girl that Yugi did not choose her. However, he explained that it was intuition that had told him Jaden was the right one. Jaden sure was a hot-shot now; a household name.

Naomi yearned to make her own name a distinguished one, separate from her father's and mother's. She wished that her adventures could make people say, "That's Naomi Motou," when they met her on the streets, not "That's Yugi's little girl." She never conveyed this hope to her father, for fear he would get angry. In actuality, if she had done so, he would have understood and given her more freedoms. But she couldn't have known this.

She had the same awkwardness regarding making new friends as Yugi had had before he solved the Millennium Puzzle. The closest person to being her friend was Kob Kleesh, an Irishman about her age who lived at the bakery on the same street as her father's store. But he was a grouch; not very affable or sanguine, most of the time. Because she had so few friends, Naomi spent a lot of time on the Internet, in chat rooms and other websites looking for kindred souls, though it usually just ended up with somebody calling her weird.

She was on such a chat room now, responding to some girl who said her favorite novelist was Norman Mailer. However, in the middle of the sentence she was typing, the screen went completely dark. Naomi didn't know what was going on. She got up to check and see if the computer had been unplugged or not; no, it was the same as if nothing had happened, just dark. Then a blur appeared on the screen, and became clearer and clearer as the seconds ticked away. Finally, it was steady. The image before her looked like an android, with a blue body and a purple streak running down his torso. He turned his gaze towards her.

Naomi felt like screaming, but her voice caught in her throat. She wanted to move, but her legs were frozen like popsickles.

Words appeared on the screen, as if some one were typing them out. –MY NAME IS GEIDO.

"Geido?" Naomi found herself asking. "What do you want?"

-YOU MUST TYPE.

"What do you want?" Naomi typed.

-TO PROTECT YOU.

"From what?"

-FROM IMMEDIATE DANGERS. FROM DRACOS IMAGINOS. FROM CECIL KAIBA.

"What is this, Dracos Imaginos? And why should I be worried about Cecil Kaiba?"

-NOW'S NOT THE TIME FOR ANSWERS. ONLY PREPARATION.

"Preparation?"

-YOU MUST OBTAIN A HYBRIDIZATION CARD.

"But only one can be found in every 500 packs!"

-DO NOT DESPAIR. YOU HAVE THE HEART OF THE CARDS, DO YOU NOT? BELIEVE, AND HYBRIDIZATION WILL BE YOURS.

Naomi thought a moment, then typed: "Should I alert my father?"

-DO NO SUCH THING! YUGI MOTOU WILL TRY TO PUT A STOP TO THE INEVITABLE, PUTTING HIMSELF INTO A DANGER THAT SHOULD BE YOURS ALONE. NAOMI, THIS IS YOUR TIME TO STEP OUT OF YOUR FATHER'S SHADOW.

"No offence, Mr. Geido, sir, but do I really need your help?"

The android glared at her. –WITHOUT MY HELP, YOUR CHANCES OF SUCCEEDING ARE ZERO PERCENT. WITH MY HELP, YOUR CHANCES OF SUCCEEDING ARE EIGHTY-SEVEN PERCENT. BUT IF YOU CHOOSE TO SPURN ME, YOU CAN HAVE IT YOUR WAY.

She was frustrated at this point. How could Geido be so vain as to tell her that she would definitely fail without him? But she had no one else to trust, and decided to follow his advice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zimia, Cecil's old fiancée, was put into St. Elizabeth's Hospital for the Emotionally Challenged, for she had completely broken down when her lover disappeared without a note of farewell or warning. Her grandmother had also vanished without a trace, and her necklace was missing.

How could Cecil do this to her? What if he had gone and committed suicide? Then her dreams of the future were forever dashed. She would not ever be Mrs. Kaiba, wife of the owner of the greatest gamemaking company in the world. She would not have Cecil all to herself, the only man she ever thought handsome. And she would never be successful as a human being.

Two days after the release of Between Charybdis and Scylla, a young man with purple hair and shaking hands walked into Zimia's ward. He had to pay a ton of money to do so, because he was not family.

"Zimia, darling, are you well enough to hear me?" the purple-haired man asked, seeing her in a comatose state.

"I'm ffffffine," Zimia said, stammering.

"You don't sound fine, my sweet. But wait till you hear what I've got to say: Seto Kaiba is still alive," he said in a low whisper, so the nurses couldn't hear.

"What?!?" she exclaimed, incredulous.

One of the nurses shook with rage at the disturbance. "Sir, if you continue to alarm her I will have to ask you to leave. She's already emotionally unstable as it is, without you to create an even greater imbalance."

"He's still alive," the purple-haired man said, in a louder tone because the nurse would not know who 'he' referred to, "I just got back from dueling him, in the Sahara desert. Listen, my dearest, he has the remaining two Blue Eyes…faked his own death…really clever…Tomorrow I'm going to announce to thw world that he still walks the earth."

"Maybe he'll bring Cecil back," Zimia said cheerfully, though she believed the purple-haired man was cracking up.

"Cecil! You know that name disgusts me! Zimia, if it had not been for him, you would've married me!"

"Cliderot, I have told you time and again. It is futile to speak of things as if they could have been such and such a way. You can dream all you want, but the only way you'll know whether I would or would not have married you is for someone to take Cecil Kaiba out of this world."

A smile broached the purple-haired man's face. "Is that so?"

Zimia soon realized what she had done. "Cliderot, don't think of it! If you take his life, I'll never forgive you!"

"Goodbye, my sweet."

"Cliderot! Cliderot! Cliderot!" she shouted, as he ran out the door.

Then the convulsions started, she passed out; a new worry was added to Zimia's already long list; and Cliderot, the purple-haired duelist, was all set to have his revenge on the Kaiba family,


	4. Dracos Imaginos

**Hybrid Chronicles, The**

**Dracos Imaginos**

"Norgi! Norgi, wake up!"

"Don't bother him; he'll awaken of his own accord."

"What do you know, tiger? Maybe he doesn't want to sleep."

"Oh, please wake up, Norgi!" said the first voice.

Nolez was groggy. The last thing he remembered was some tournament he had won. Then he had blacked out. His eyes were full of film, and he heard people speaking in a strange language, the only word of which he recognized being "Norgi," which was a Duel Monster card.

"Mokey-Mokey, you are getting too close." The little block with wings had his face only an inch from Nolez's.

"I'm sorry, Aqua Madoor, but I just can't help it. If Norgi doesn't wake up soon, we'll be caught in a crossfire. He's just got to wake up." Mokey-Mokey had been the first voice.

"He's already awake," said the cynical Amazoness Tiger.

"Norgi, do you hear me?" Mokey-Mokey queried of Nolez.

His eyes were still trying to adjust. As we've noted, he did not understand any word except "Norgi." But he now knew that whoever these three voices were, they mistook him for someone with the same name as Saggi the Dark Clown's foil.

"Me llamo es Nolez!" he blurted out.

"Huh?" asked Mokey-Mokey. "That's not Duelimongese."

"It's Spanish," Aqua Madoor informed the fairy. "But for all I can make out, he's pleading for buttered toast."

"Pan con mantequilla."

"What's that, tiger?"

"'Pan con mantequilla' is Spanish for buttered toast, and therefore that cannot be what Norgi is asking for."

"Hey, you can understand Spanish!" Mokey-Mokey exclaimed, happily.

"Thanks for stating the obvious." Amazoness Tiger said, in an obnoxious way.

"What is he saying?" Mokey-Mokey persisted.

"He's saying that Santa Claus really lives at the South Pole, Rudolph has a blue nose, not red, and Cupid usually wears a tuxedo."

"Cut the jokes, tiger," Aqua Madoor snapped, tired of the facetious wit. "What is he really saying?"

"Do you have to be so stern? All right, all right, I'll tell you. He's saying that his name isn't Norgi, it's Nolez."

"Norgi must be confused," Mokey-Mokey suggested, glancing pitifully at the red-and-orange clown.

There was silence for a moment. Then: "Tiger!" Aqua Madoor said. "Do you know of any means we can use to understand Norgi without you acting as a disinterested translator?"

"Yes. Teach him Duelimongese. All of you will be able to understand each other in about, oh say, five years."

"I'm serious, tiger!"

Nolez was now fully awake, and saw the Asian beast he had only read about in newspapers, and the little cube-shaped fairy, and the strange creature with spiky hair. All he could think was, "Am I dreaming?"

"Put the black pendant around his neck, and he should be able to speak our language, and you to understand his."

Mokey-Mokey fetched the pendant and did what Amazoness Tiger instructed. Nolez shrunk back, and the fairy tried to assure him, "It's all right, my friend. It's all right."

Then Nolez began to glow, with a blinding radiance. It was the power of his new body, combined with his fright. Mokey-Mokey crashed into the wall, and Nolez continued to shine. Amazoness Tiger decided to put the pendant on herself, since the light did not harm her insensitive eyes. Once the necklace was placed on Nolez, the light disappeared.

"Can you understand me, clown?" Aqua Madoor asked.

Nolez was startled that the creature who said this was looking at him. "I'm not a clown!"

"Oh really? But you are Norgi, Saggi's fraternal twin brother."

"No; I'm a human being, a duelist."

"What does that word mean—duelist?" Aqua Madoor wondered.

"It's someone who plays with cards and stuff. You have Life Points, and summon Monsters, activate Spells and Traps, etc. Duel Monsters. It's a very popular game on planet Earth, which is where I'm from."

Mokey-Mokey stared in dazzlement at Nolez. "Cards? Life Points? Spells? Earth? Wow, you must be the best storyteller I've ever met, next to Mysterious Puppeteer! Can you go into further detail?"

"That's enough rapport, Mokey-Mokey," Aqua Madoor said. (Mokey-Mokey was the only one he called by name.) "We don't need any stories. We need the clown to get his memory back."

"Say, what is this place?" Nolez asked, looking around at the odd three-sided room. He was lying on a bed of straw, and there was a large, blue vase twenty feet away. There was a face painted on it, which resembled that of Pot of Generosity.

"This is Dracos Imaginos, clown."

"Dracos Imaginos," Nolez repeated. He knew from Latin class that draco meant "strict, severe." He had an idea that this was a dangerous place. "You keep calling me clown, though where I'm from you would be considered a clown yourself."

"Norgi, you are a clown by nature. I am Aqua Madoor, a wizard of the waters. That fairy over there is Mokey-Mokey, and the other being present is Amazoness Tiger. You are a twin brother of another creature known as Saggi, who is dark, whereas you are light. Does any of this ring a bell?"

"You're talking about Duel Monster cards. Aqua Madoor is known for his high defense, Mokey-Mokey can be one nasty dude, and Amazoness Tiger is a popular card in decks centered around the Amazoness monsters. Saggi and Norgi were monsters I used in my own favorite deck."

"Me a nasty dude? Imagine that, Aqua Madoor!"

"Look, clown. All of these things you are telling us about—planet Earth, cards, duelists—they don't exist. You must've had a deep and pleasant dream. However, I would advise you to stop relating it to us; you are giving the little one ideas." Aqua Madoor paused for a moment. "What are you doing, tiger?"

Amazoness Tiger could not speak. She was carrying a hand mirror in her mouth, to show Nolez what he had become. He jerked it from her, and stared at his reflection in disbelief. "I have become Norgi! What was I doing before I fell unconscious?" he asked himself.

Then the duel with Cecil Kaiba came back to his memory. He remembered Red Eyes White Dragon, and how close he had been to victory. And he recalled the power of the Hybridization card. Cecil wanted his Norgi as a prize for winning…he flipped a coin to decide Nolez' fate…summoned Blazing Impachi, not a hologram, and sent Nolez to his death. He remembered the flames, the flashback of his life before he was forced to hug fire. And he saw Cecil's face filled with glee at Nolez' suffering. "I'll get you for this Kaiba, if it's the last thing I do."

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There was a stack of _Between Charybdis and Scylla_ boxes in the Cards R' Us display window. A poster read "Get your own Hybridization card, and blow your opponent away!"

"I guess father didn't survive long enough to stop them from getting shipped," Cecil said to himself. He had programmed Geido to have a surefire strategy to defeat Mokuba with; he had put three copies of Copycat in the robot's deck. If Mokuba had lost—as he was supposed to—then Geido had sent him to Dracos Imaginos.

To tell the truth, Cecil was very happy that other Hybridization cards were out there. He had no intentions of killing his father; that was the robot's job. But other duelists would be sending their opponents to Dracos Imaginos, and soon he, Cecil, would be able to go through with his plan.

If there were a chance that his father was still alive, then Cecil would have to duel him eventually. But that was still a while in the future; he had other fish to fry.

He entered a small tournament, promising not to use Hybridization till the final match. It was very tempting to use it earlier, especially when one of his opponents used Gravity Bind after Cecil had summoned Kaiser Glider. But he found another way to win.

"And now we arrive at the final match of the Little Ambark Town Tournament. This one is going to be between Ice Baalick and Joshua Hittam. And let the game…begin!"

(Ice Baalick is an anagram of Cecil Kaiba. He used this name so that no one would recognize him.)

4000/4000

"I always let my opponents go first," Joshua said, in a high country voice.

"In that case, I'll activate the Field Spell, The Trophy Ring."

The Trophy Ring  
Field Spell  
Effect: Monsters that have the same level cannot destroy each other in battle.

"Then I'll summon Axe Raider, set a face-down, and end my turn."

"Okay, Ice. It's time for me to thaw you out. I summon Berserk Gorilla!"

A large orange beast appeared on the field. It was enough to intimidate anyone, except Cecil Kaiba.

"Berserk Gorilla, attack Axe Raider!" The monster took his might fists and flung them ferociously at the warrior.

3700/4000

"Now I set my own face-down, and end my turn," Joshua said.

"I sacrifice Axe Raider, in order to summon Kaiser Glider!"

"Oh, a man named Ice is playing with Dragons? How ironic! Well, I'll have to cure you of that! Activate Trap Hole!"

"Nooo!"

A huge void in the ground appeared below Cecil's dragon. Kaiser Glider was magnetically dragged inside, and the tunnel disappeared. Cecil's side of the field was bare of monsters.

"I…end my turn."

"Ah, it looks like the duel's already over. I summon Majestic Mech Ohka in attack mode!"

"That's a six-starred monster!" Cecil said indignantly, as the pink-and-white fairy materialized on Joshua's side of the field. "You can't summon it without sacrificing!"

"Ah, but I can, Mr. Iceman. You see, my Ohka's special ability permits her to be summoned without any tributes, as long as I'm willing to part with her during the End Phase. Pretty nifty effect, wouldn't you say? And now, with no monsters to protect you, you're through! Berserk Gorilla and Majestic Mech Ohka, attack Ice directly!"

A smoke cloud appeared as Joshua's monsters rushed at Cecil, and the audience was disappointed to see the duel end so abruptly.

3700/4000

"What's this? Your Life Points should be zero!"

"And they would be, had I not activated this!" Everyone saw the familiar trap, with a whirlwind of blazing light on its picture.

"Negate Attack! Well, Ice, that was some save you made yourself. However, nothing will protect you from my next move. For now I activate, the one, the only, majestic, Hybridization!"

The look on Cecil's face was one of mingled shock and wonder. His opponent was opening the gate to Dracos Imaginos; this had never happened before. This was going to be a pretty tough fight. And even if he didn't manage to pull off a hybridization himself, if Joshua lost, he would be sent to the other world.

Berserk Gorilla and Majestic Mech Ohka came together as one, unified monster. It had the face of the fairy, with the wings and the pink and white color, but the brawny, burliness of the ape. Its ATK was 2200.

(Berserk Gorilla's ATK 2000 X 0.5 + Majestic Mech Ohka's ATK 2400 X 0.5 2200.)

3700/2500

"That concludes my turn," said Joshua.

"I'll set one Monster face-down. Back to you."

"Berserk Ohka of the Jungle—what a mouthful—attack Ice's face-down card, with Striking Mabjammer!"

The hybrid was swift and stately. He hammered the fists he had inherited from Berserk Gorilla wildly on the horizontal Duel Monster card. There was a flash of blue, and a one-eyed monster aimed an unpleasant beam at Joshua's deck.

"Hiro's Shadow Scout forces you to pick up three cards from your Deck, and discard any Spells among them."

Joshua discarded Swords of Revealing Light and Lightning Vortex, adding a Reinforcements to his Hand.

"Your go."

"Gladly," Cecil said. "And I summon Bewildered Telescoper!"

What appeared on Kaiba's side of the field was a green creature that wore a white Lab coat, peering through a giant telescope. Through the glass of this instrument a Duel Disk could be discerned.

Bewildered Telescoper  
LV 4/ Reptile/ EARTH  
ATK???? DEF????  
Effect: This Monster's ATK and DEF are equal to the number of cards you have in your hand x 400. This Monster can attack your opponent's Life Points directly.

"Because my hand contains four cards, my monster has 1600 attack points. Now, Bewildered Telescoper, attack with Destined Target!"

Cecil's monster stood stock-still. But the Duel Disk reflected in its telescope started to catch fire. Then Joshua's own Duel Disk was submerged in searing flames.

3700/0900

"You will pay for that!" Joshua yelled.

"I'll end my turn."

"I thought your name was Ice…but you seem to like fire a lot; first dragons, then a crazy reptilian scientist who literally burns Life Points! But my Hybrid Monster is ready to put you out! Attack that Telescoper!"

3100/0900

"I hope that shows you, Ice! I'll set one face-down and call it a turn"

When his next turn started, Cecil smiled at the card he drew, Blue Eyes White Dragon. In due time, my pet. And I'll use you with care, just as my dead uncle used to do.

"The only thing I've learned is that I need to take my game up a notch! Here's my chance. I play Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two. And now I activate Circus Magic, and I'll use it to summon Saggi and Norgi from my hand!"

Circus Magic  
Normal Spell  
When you activate this card, you may Special Summon up to two Level 4 or lower Monsters that have the word 'Clown' in their card name.

On the card picture, it showed a red and white striped tent with a couple of Crass Crowns dancing and cavorting around Gagagigo.

Both Saggi and Norgi appeared, though the latter was a little ruffled, with his bedraggled, unkempt hair and bemused expression.

"Nice of you to join us, Nolez," Cecil said, smirking.

Norgi turned round. "Cecil Kaiba! What have you done to me?"

There were whisperings in the crowd. "Come to think of it," said a red-headed busybody. "He does look like Mokuba's son." "Did that Duel Monster just talk?" "Bedlam and confusion!" shouted a white-haired old man.

"Order in the audience!" the referee bellowed. Everyone quieted down. "Good. Now, Mr. Kaiba, I must inform you that according to town rules, you are hereby disqualified. Reason being: you have entered our tournament under an alias, an assumed name, which Little Ambark Town doesn't permit. It's a violation that we cannot overlook. Therefore, I must concede the duel to Mr. Joshua Hittam."

The look of shock on Joshua's face at discovering that his opponent was Cecil Kaiba was not easily wiped away. In fact, he nearly fainted. But when the last words were spoken, he felt his temerity level rise. "Uh…Mr. Referee, sir, may I make a suggestion?"

"Certainly, Mr. Hittam. What is it?"

"That this duel may continue."

"But the rules, sir, clearly state—"

"Yes, I know. But there's a sort of revelation one feels when one finds that he was dueling a Kaiba, when he thought otherwise. And, besides, I know I can win! Look who has the upper hand!"

The referee pulled out his cell phone, and called the Little Ambark Town's Dueling Board. The chief official gave his approval, on one condition.

"Okay, this duel can continue. But, in the event that Mr. Cecil Kaiba triumphs, he will not receive any prizes, trophies, etc., and the result of this tournament will not go down in the city's record books. Do you agree, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Yes."

"Then without further ado, let the duel resume!"

"I sacrifice—" Cecil began.

"Oh no, you don't! Not without me saying another word, first!" Nolez protested, knowing what Kaiba was about to do.

"Very well, then, Nolez. And I'd like to know why you stopped referring to yourself in the third person?"

"Will you stop it with the talking Duel Monster, already?" shouted the white-haired man. "I suspect some ventriloquism."

Nolez ignored Kaiba's question. "Joshua, that is your name, right?"

Cecil's opponent pretended he didn't hear anything, for fear that people would think he was insane, acknowledging a talking Duel Monster.

"That clown is speaking to you, doofus!" the old man bellowed. "Do you hear him, or do I need to loan you my hearing aids?"

The referee was vexed. "Will some get the old man out of this place?"

"Do not, whatever you do, lose this duel. You'll go to Dracos Imaginos, which is a—"

"Nolez! Hush about Dracos Imaginos! I did not summon you so that you could speak of that place!"

"What did you summon me for, Mr. Kaiba? And I must say, being used as a Duel Monster is a pretty frightening experience. You see a lot of things you don't when you're the duelist instead. For instance—"

"I don't want any of your prattle! Now, I sacrifice you and Saggi in order to summon Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Before Nolez completely vanished from the field, he shouted one last incoherent "Dracos Imaginos!"

"White Lightning!"

Joshua now had no doubt in his mind that his opponent was Cecil Kaiba. But didn't he know what would happen when he destroyed a Hybrid?

3100/0100

"Hah! You have just lost the duel, Kaiba! For here come my two monsters, to attack you directly!" However, only one monster showed up: Berserk Gorilla.

1100/0100

"How can that be?" Joshua wondered. "Both monsters were in my Graveyard when my Hybrid was destroyed, so what could've gone wrong? You should've lost the duel already, Kaiba!"

"No, I shouldn't. For, you see, Majestic Mech Ohka's effect makes it impossible for you to revive it by Hybridization, unless it is destroyed in the same turn that the monster was summoned in the first place. This is because at the end of your turn, you would've had to destroy Ohka anyways, but you saved it by Hybridization. However, Berserk Gorilla has no limitations on his summoning, and therefore was able to show up like normal and attack me directly."

"Wow, you seem to know a lot about Hybridization."

"I know everything there is to know about that card, and how it operates in all situations, up to any cards printed before Between Charybdis and Scylla. And, if you're lucky, you just may get to see me play it."

"Impossible! You don't have enough Life Points to activate it!"

"We shall see. And I believe it was your move?"

"I activate Hinotama, reducing your Life Points by 500! Then I sacrifice Berserk Gorilla in order to summon Puissant Ape!"

0600/0100

Puissant Ape  
LV 8/ Beast/ EARTH  
ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000  
Effect: If you sacrifice a Beast-type monster to summon this card, you only have to tribute one Monster.

Joshua's new monster was seven feet tall, covered in white fur, and with a small tuft of hair on its forehead. It actually appeared to be very clueless; its stupidity would've made Darwin cringe.

"Now I activate Habitat for Bestiality, which will destroy your Trophy Ring card."

Habitat for Bestiality  
Field Spell  
Effect: Raise the ATK of all Beast-type monsters by 500 points.

A tree-house appeared on the field, between the duelists. Blue Eyes' head peered over the accompanying tree at Joshua, and Puissant Ape gazed dumbly at Cecil.

"Puissant Ape, attack Blue Eyes at once!"

"They'll both be destroyed!" Cecil exclaimed.

At first, Joshua's monster was stagnant. But when he had gathered all his force, he trounced on the ground, and wrapped his odious fingers around the dragon's throat, squeezing and squeezing…

Blue Eyes began to counterattack. However, both the dragon and Cecil's spirits were dampened when they heard the dismal word, "Reinforcements!"

Kaiba should've known. Joshua had set that card shortly after Hiro's Shadow Scout had allowed him to draw it. His monster was destroyed.

0100/0100

"Now we are even," Joshua said, with a smirk. "I have a monster with 3000 attack power. You have zero monsters, Spells, or Traps on your side of the field, and one card in your hand. Of course, you're about to draw another. But that won't save you. You're finished, Cecil Kaiba! Make your move!"

Cecil drew his card, and was disappointed. He was probably going to lose this duel after all. Still, there was one hope. "I activate Exchange!"

Joshua's face went purple. "No, anything but that!"

"What have you got to hide?" Kaiba looked at Joshua's hand. "Ah, I see. Well, I'll take this card if you don't mind," selecting a Spirit Monster. "You can have the only card I had in my hand, The Great Dezard. But he's not so great in the current situation."

Joshua grudgingly took Cecil's card, and the latter duelist returned to his side of the field.

"Now I summon Inaba White Rabbit!" A white hare on a vacuum cleaner appeared on the field. "Attack Joshua Directly!"

The rabbit started up the vacuum cleaner and flew around the tree behind Joshua's ape, which tried to swat at it but missed. The vacuum cleaner was rammed hard into Joshua's Duel Disk.

0100/0000

"And I shall claim my prize."

The referee halted Cecil, as he stepped forward. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba, but rules are rules. You cannot receive the Little Ambark Town trophy, on account of your using an alias."

"That's not the prize I was referring to. I'm taking Joshua's Berserk Gorilla."

"This is not Battle City," the referee said, alluding to a tournament that was held in that region by Kaiba's uncle, in which winners took the rarest card from the loser's deck.

Cecil continued to advance toward Joshua. "Stop him!" the referee shouted, at a couple of stout guards eating doughnuts.

"I summon Red Eyes White Dragon!"

The guards laughed. "Oh, look at the little hologram. What's it going to do, blast us?"

Red Eyes White was infuriated, and set a fiery beam in the guards' direction. Both were blown to smithereens; all that remained of them were tiny ashes were they had stood a second before and the piquant smell of coffee cake. A lady in the crowd screamed.

By this time, Cecil had approached Joshua, and was removing Berserk Gorilla from his deck. "And now, for your one-way ticket to Dracos Imaginos."

Joshua was unconscious, but when he heard these words it was as if he had just sat on a pot of boiling water. "What did you say, Kaiba?"

"I summon Norgi the Light Clown!" he said, ignoring Joshua's question.

Nolez was bewildered. Why was he here again? 

"Nolez, there is something you are obliged to do. And that is, to send Joshua to Dracos Imaginos."

"And what if I were to…refuse?" he asked, tentatively.

"You can't refuse!"

Nolez felt a dark power take hold of him, and heard himself say a strange incantation. Joshua's hands started to fade, then his legs, then his torso, and as he was yelling "What's happppeninnng?" he vanished in a thin vapour.

Cecil pocketed the Berserk Gorilla, and made a rush to leave the stadium. Nobody stood in his way, as they were afraid of Red Eyes White Dragon.

A helicopter was waiting outside, and Kaiba boarded it, telling the pilot his destination. If Mokuba was still alive, and not in Dracos Imaginos where he was supposed to be, he would regretting seeing his son again. But before he went there, Cecil had one more stop to make, at the firm of Underwood and Raptor.


	5. Sybridization

"**Hybrid Chronicles, The"**

**Chapter Five**

Sybridization

A young card creator was contemplating what his next idea should be. He had been notified, by a pink letter, that he would be fired within fifteen days if he didn't come up with something new.

Trying to find inspiration, and realizing that it could not be found in a stuffy office, he decided to get some fresh air. On his walk, he saw Mr. Huffington's office door was open. Mr. Huffington was a paunchy, thirty-year-old man who had been working for the company since he was seventeen. The young man went to chat with the more experienced veteran.

"So, running out of card ideas, Leonard?"

"Yes, Mr. Huffington."

"What exactly do you intend to make? A trap, spell, or monster card?"

"Really, I haven't even decided on _that _yet."

"Here's a suggestion. If I were in your shoes, I'd choose to make a monster, to complete a set. For example, you could create a new Gravekeeper; or another Dark World monster, or another Elemental Hero Neos fusion. You know what I always say: 'Go with something simple, if you can't think of anything complicated.'"

"Yes, sir."

"But," Chumley admonished, "whatever card you create, there must be a story behind it. Every single card ever produced by Industrial Illusions—and KaibaCorp, when they merged—has a story. Even Snapesnatch."

"Snapesnatch! He can't have a story!"

"I assure you he does, young man. But it is a long one, and will have to wait another day."

"But…it might give me an idea of what to do for my card," Leonard encouraged.

"Some other time, my friend. Right now I'm at work on designing a spectacular card that makes Winged-Beast type monsters invulnerable to the EARTH attribute, and telling a story about Snapesnatch will distract me from my work, and possibly cause me to miss my deadline." And with that, Chumley shooed him away.

Leonard ambled over to the park, and sat down on a bench to ponder. Add on to a theme, Mr. Huffington had advised. Easy for him to say, hot-shot hero of the company. What would he do? Gravekeeper's Termagant? How about, Zappos, Kibitzer of Dark World? Or the 14th Grave?

While cogitating about a story that would fit the 14th Grave, a newspaper flew into Leonard's face. On the front page was the headline: **BOY CLAIMS THAT SETO KAIBA IS ALIVE!**

Leonard read: "Cliderot von Schroeder, 20, noted for his purple-hair, announced, with blaring horn and blazing fire, that, while in the Sahara Desert, he came across a cloaked figure. The latter gentleman asked Cliderot for a duel, and played Blue Eyes White Dragon. It was then that Kaiba revealed himself, that he had not died in the plane crash fourteen years ago as people have previously been led to believe. Questions about von Schroeder's verity have been raised. There is no doubt that the purple-haired Cliderot is convinced of the truth of his statement, but the general public is at loggerheads with this view. Perhaps it was just hallucination on von Schroeder's part; after all, the Sahara is world-famous for its mirages."

Thoughts raced through Leonard's head: _Seto Kaiba still alive? That's preposterous! But this Cliderot Shroeder seems convinced. Shroeder…Shroeder…I know I've heard that name before. Ah, well, let's see here…Blue Eyes White Dragon, counterpart, Red Eyes Black Dragon. Blue and red are two of the primary colors. The other one is yellow. Yellow! That's it!_

"Yellow Eyes blank Dragon," Leonard said to himself. "That's what the game needs. But what can I insert for the 'blank'? The only complement of black and white is gray, and Yellow Eyes Gray Dragon is too prosaic and monotonous."

A kid on a skateboard was rolling past the bench where Leonard sat, and heard him speaks of Yellow Eyes in his soliloquy. "Mister Bum!" the boy said insolently. "There's no such thing as a Yellow-Eyed Dragon in Duel Monsters. Only a Blue-Eyed and a Red-Eyed one. And I should know, because I spend all my time studying the game. I want to be a card creator some day."

Leonard was infuriated. "I am not a bum! Do you see my Industrial Illusions badge?" he asked, holding the badge right up to the boy's face, so that he could see his name and position:

Industrial Illusions

Leonard Bumpkin

Card Designer

"Your name is Bumpkin, so I'd say you are a bum," the boy pointed out.

Leonard went purple. Of all the accursed surnames, why did he have to get stuck with Bumpkin?

"But that's cool that you're a card designer," said the boy, whose eyes lit up with admiration. "You must be living the big life, hearing about other people playing the cards that you made. As I've already mentioned, it's always been my dream."

"Kid, designing cards is not all fun and games. There are deadlines you have to meet, and if you run out of ideas, they slam you! I haven't met the last four deadlines, and they're about ready to make pumpkin juice out of me."

"Or Bumpkin juice," the boy snickered. After he recovered himself, he said, "I would never run out of ideas; I'm full of them."

"Oh, lucky you," Leonard said bitterly, vexed at the pun on his surname.

"Say, I could give you an idea, if you're in lack of them. I would like you to give credit to me, however."

"Well, I had an idea of a complement to Red Eyes and Blue Eyes, because those are both primary colors. So my next card would be Yellow Eyes something Dragon. The problem is, I don't know what color to insert for its body, and I don't have an effect in mind. The deadline is a mere fortnight from now."

"Don't worry; I'll bail you out. Tomorrow you'll have the color for the body; I have to look at my palette and imagine what would be best with prominent yellow eyes. The effect may take some time, but that is subsidiary to the image, since the effect can be added on almost instantly."

"Thank you in advance."

"You're welcome. Oh and by the way, the name's Kaluzer Obutin." And the boy skateboarded away, and with tacit consent they both knew to meet each other at the particular bench at the same time on the ensuing day.

Two weeks later, Leonard Bumpkin presented his new card to the board directors. "Yellow Eyes Maroon Dragon." He did not give any credit to Kaluzer Obutin.

A purple-haired young man was entering a tire store. He had to travel cross-country and didn't have any extras.

An eighteen-year-boy was standing in the store, languidly flipping through a Hot Rot magazine. "Oh, a customer. Mr. Truesdale will be right with you."

He went to the backroom to alert the owner. When he returned, a delivery woman came in, carrying a large box of _Between Charybdis and Scylla _boosters.

"They've come!" the eighteen-year-old exclaimed. He led the delivery woman to where Syrus was. Shortly the woman came back.

"You might want to try again tomorrow," she told Cliderot. "Mr. Truesdale will be awhile."

"But I need new tires today!"

"Suit yourself. However, I would think waiting twelve hours to buy some tires would be rather enervating." And with that, she walked off.

Cliderot was growing restless. He heard noises from the back; occasionally Syrus was jubilant whenever he discovered a new 'Vehicroid' in the set. At last deciding that the delivery women was right about the long wait, Cliderot sacrificed etiquette and went back to interrupt.

The door of Syrus' office was shut and secure. Cliderot heard him say, "Oh wow, a Yachtroid." He knocked politely, reserving some manners.

"Samson, see who that is."

The eighteen-year-old opened the door. "Come back tomorrow, sir. We're closed."

Cliderot pushed himself past Samson. "Mr. Truesdale, I'm sorry to barge in on you like this, but I need new tires, pronto! It's a matter of love and death!"

"Love and death, did you say? Well, in that case, how can I say no?"

Syrus assisted his customer, though Cliderot seemed to know more about tires than the person who had made a profession of selling them. Syrus was woolgathering; thinking of Dark Magician Girl, whom he had proposed to. She had rejected him, saying that it was time they saw other people. He had also proposed to Thunder Nyan-Nyan, but she was adamant. She preferred Hintosu-Me Giant, for his blue hue and puissant strength. Or perhaps these proposals were just a dream…Duel Monsters weren't real, after all.

Nevertheless, there was someone whom he really did ask to marry him: Alexis Rhodes. He had no ides what made him so bold as to commit such an act of effrontery, but the deed was done. She had spurned him, just like Dark Magician Girl and Thunder Nyan-Nyan. He supposed that vanity had something to do with his temerity. After all, his mother had often told him that he was handsomer than Zane.

As Cliderot was leaving the shop, Syrus shouted behind him, "I hope love triumphs!" This made the purple-haired duelist smile.

Returning to his previous occupation, Syrus Truesdale opened the boosters in his office. The reason it was taking so long to open 36 boosters from a single box was that Syrus was analyzing each card carefully, to decide whether or no it would strengthen his Roid deck.

After hours of meticulous observation, he had finally arrived at the last booster.

"Another Smerewolf, False Penguin Knob, Arrow Knot, Winnow Pit…hmmm, I'll have to look at the effect on that."

Winnow Pit

LV 3/WATER/Fish

ATK: 300 DEF: 1800

Effect: If this monster is destroyed in battle by a Machine-Type monster, inflict 1000 points of damage to your own Life Points.

"What! Who would use this Winnow Pit? It's worse than Burning Algae!" Syrus was exasperated. "Ah, well. Let's see, Alien Geographer…that's an amusing name…and then the rare card. Zoinks, I don't believe my eyes! I must be dreaming! It's, it's…Samson! Will you get in here? I've got something to ask you."

The eighteen-year-old boy came in with a half-eaten hot-dog in his right hand. "Whaizzit?" he said listlessly.

"Put down that hot dog and wash your hands. Or better yet, I'll put this film over it." Syrus took some transparent plastic wrap and covered his newest card in it. "Take a good look at this card, and tell me what it is."

Samson viewed the treasure, and his eyes bulged. "Hybridization!"

"Yes, Hybridization. Now that you've seen it too, I know I'm not hallucinating. I have in my possession the most powerful card ever created. Fate must have had a hand in it, because I never get lucky with my boosters."

Syrus knew exactly whom he'd like to test Hybridization on: his brother Zane. The brothers had long been rivals; they had both proposed to Alexis Rhodes. Of course, Zane was sure of success, collected and confident. He and Alexis had had a special bond, or so he thought. Much to his surprise, she turned down his offer, and to this day she was a bachelorette. She loved dueling, not men.

Zane's wife was Fanny Brim, a lady who was the spitting image of Alexis Rhodes. Zane would not have married her if she weren't. But, aside from looks, she was nothing like Alexis. She was perpetually cross, and stubborn, and absent-minded. Fanny was envious of every moment Zane spent with his cards; she wanted him to think of nothing but her. Their relationship was the opposite of her wishes, for he never thought of her at all. Despite looking like Alexis, she could not fill the hole in his heart. His courage had been punctured ever since he was denied Alexis' hand.

Syrus had never been to Zane's new house once. He had often wanted to visit his niece and nephews, but he knew he was not welcome at his brother's. The main reason was that Zane was angry with Syrus for asking Alexis to marry him. That was tantamount to a severe attack on his brother. Also, Zane did not want his kids to be "contaminated" by their uncle, whom they were taught was a sorry example of morality. (This was perhaps due to Zane's belief that Syrus had no sense of his fraternal duty, as revealed when he gave his Power Bond card to some shrimp named Chazz Princeton, who was now a lawyer somewhere in Arkansas.)

When Syrus rang the bell, Fanny was in the kitchen baking brownies, and she was wearing an apron with smears all over it as she opened the door. "Well, if it isn't Beelzebub himself," she said, snidely.

"You're so kind, Mrs. Truesdale," Syrus said, sarcastically. "Is Zane home?"

"Yes, he's here. As sure as tomorrow's Christmas. I'll go get him." And she went to do that.

"Wait a second, Fanny. It's the first week of August; tomorrow is not Christmas."

"Okay, okay," Fanny said, turning around. "He's in Egypt, and won't be home for a couple of weeks. Why did you need him?"

"No particular reason. How are Jodie, and Tim, and Brinlow?"

"Jodie's tenth birthday is tomorrow. She's really excited."

"May I see them?"

"I don't know…Zane wouldn't approve, and you know I am honor-bound to him. But, all right. Why not?"

She went to the adjoining room, and shouted up the stairway, "Jodie! Tim! Uncle Syrus is here to see you!"

Brimlow was only three years old, and Tim had to carry him. Tim was seven, and he was fascinated by geography. He could tell you the difference between gneiss and igneous rocks with ease.

Jodie ran to her uncle and hugged him. She loved him, even though she rarely got to see him—the last time was at a reunion three years ago, when she was six. "Uncle, I've got something to show you. Let me run and go get it." She did so, leaving Syrus alone with Tim, Brimlow.

Tim was only four when he had last seen his uncle. He did not remember him.

"Hello, Tim," Syrus said.

"Do you know the difference between a calcifuge and a calcicole?" the boy asked.

Syrus stuttered, saying that he didn't. He was blissfully ignorant of many scientific fields.

"I'll tell you, uncle. A calcicole is a plant that grows in calcium-rich soil. A calcifuge is the opposite—it grows in areas deficit in calcareous minerals."

Jodie came back in, and overheard Tim's attempt to educate their father's brother. "Tim," she scolded, "Uncle Syrus doesn't want to hear about your stupid scientific knowledge. If you wish to talk to him, speak of things he likes."

Time started to cry, and he ran off. Syrus felt a tiny twinge of regret that he didn't stick up for his nephew, but the last thing he wanted to do was tick off his lovely niece. So he kept quiet.

"Look at this," Jodie said, holding up a painting she had done. It showed the art of the Hybridization card, which normally showed Dark Magician and Gagagigo combining to create a single monster. But instead of Dark Magician, it was Dark Magician Girl. And instead of Gagagigo, Syrus saw himself.

"Wow!" Syrus said, happy that his niece thought so highly of him. She was a great artist, reminding him of a friend he had had back when he was a student at Duel Academy: Chumley Huffington.

"It's called _Sybridization. _You can keep it if you like."

"Thank you, Jodie."

Three days later, a man with his Rottweiler came into Syrus' tire store. The man was wearing overalls and an orange shirt, and had spikes on his boots. "Sir, no mongrels are allowed in here," Samson informed him.

"Redost goes with me wherever I tread. If he can't enter this blasted shop, I don't do business."

"The quadruped must go."

"No."

They stared hard at each other, and Syrus emerged from his office. "What is going on here?"

"This man insists on bringing his filthy, stinking, rotten—"

The dog barked, loudly and shrilly.

"You anger Redost. Thou shalt pay for your insinuations."

"Oh, I shall, shall I?"

"Stop this bickering!" Syrus said. "Sir, what do you want?"

"Name's Sixxut. There's a Double-X in there, just hap you misspell it. And I'm itchin' for a duel."

"Camran's 24-Hour Tournament is down the street. This is a tire store."

"Nay. I'm lookin' to duel a specific person, who goes by the name Syrus Truesdale."

"That's me!"

There was a scuffling sound. Then Samson screamed; Rebost had bitten him.

"So, how about it?"

"Certainly, why not? Just let me grab my deck, and let's go outside."

Samson gave a half-smile. He hated dogs.

Out on the lawn, the duel commenced.

4000/4000

"Because you are the challenger, I think it's fair that I go first," Syrus said. "And I activate Magnetization! Now, I must show you my hand, and if there are two of a monster with the same name in it, than I can search my Deck for a third one!"

Sixxut saw Syrus' Hand. He had two Gyroids in it.

"Now I get a third Gyroid. And then, I activate Polymerization, to fuse my three monsters together in order to create Eternal Gyroid!"

The new monster was five times the size of the ordinary plane. It had only a single head, but three pairs of eyes.

Eternal Gyroid

LV 6/ EARTH/ Machine/Fusion

ATK: 1750 DEF: 1750

Fusion Material Monsters: Gyroid + Gyroid + Gyroid

Effect: This card can only be Fusion Summoned by the above Fusion Material Monsters. This monster cannot be destroyed in battle. If it is destroyed by a card effect, your opponent must discard one random card from his/her hand.

"I end my turn."

"It appears that you have succeeded in summonin' a good stall. But it won't last long. For I summon Latchhook."

Latchhook was purely white, except for his eyes, which were blood red. He was a biped, and his head was oval-shaped. The overall body had a jellylike texture. His hands were hooks.

Latchhook

LV 4/ DARK/ Spellcaster

ATK: 1800 DEF: 1400

Effect: Whenever this monster is destroyed in battle, select one monster on your opponent's side of the field and equip this card to it. The selected monster cannot attack, or switch battle position. Destroy both the selected monster and this card during your third Standby Phase after this effect activates.

"Latchook, attack Eternal Gyroid, with Sharp Sterilizer!"

3950/4000

"I set one face-down, and end my turn."

Syrus drew his card. "I summon Steamroid in attack mode, and have him steamroll your precious Latchhook with Gathering Momentum!"

The train Syrus had summoned to the field was four feet tall, and stood on its caboose. Steamroid grew larger when Syrus ordered it to attack, since it was more puissant when it was attacking than when it was standing idle. It began its charge slowly, setting itself down as if it were on the tracks. Then it began to pick up speed, until it rammed hard into Latchhook, thereby annihilating Sixxut's monster.

3950/3500

"Now Eternal Gyroid, attack him directly, with Indomitable Propulsion!"

But the plane remained stock-still. It could not move, for something was holding it back.

"What the—" Syrus ejaculated, unaware of the cause of his monster's stalling. Then he saw it. Latchhook was attached to Eternal Gyroid's tail, and he would not release his grip. "Sixxut, what is your monster doing to my plane?"

"He is keepin' him from attackin'. You see, when Latchhook is destroyed, it hitches onto a monster on the field of my choosin', like a parasite. That monster cannot switch its battle position either, and after three measly turns, it is sent packing to the Graveyard."

"Well, I guess I'll just end my turn now."

"Activate Fusion Gate!"

The Field Spell Sixxut had played turned all the area in the immediate vicinity into a digital arena.

"Thou knowest what I can do now. Fusion negative Polymerization! And here goes: E-Hero Clayman and E-Hero Sparkman from my Hand fuse to create, E-Hero Thunder Giant!"

Clayman, a gray and beige golem with a tiny red head, and Sparkman, a biped monster who was mostly yellow and blue, were sucked into a vacuum, and the sky rang with the cacophony of thunder as a monster with Sparkman's color and Clayman's breadth was summoned to the field. His effect went off, sending Steamroid to the Graveyard.

"Aye, I am perfectly cognizant of the fact that I could've taken out 1100 of your Life Points had I chosen to destroy Eternal Gyroid with E-Hero Thunder Giant's effect, but I have bigger plans in store. Now, my monster attacks your plane, with Fury of Lightnin'!"

3300/3500

"And then I activate my face-down, A Hero Emerges! You must select one card randomly from my hand, and if it's a monster, I can Special Summon it."

Sixxut's strategy reminded Syrus of someone else from his past: Jaden Yuki. For the second time in three days, his thoughts drifted back to Duel Academy. He felt a pang of longing to return to that blissful time period. These days there was little in life; all he had were his shop and his Vehicroids. If Dark Magician Girl had only accepted his marriage proposal…

"Hello? Earth to Syrus! I just played a card, and you have a decision to make." Sixxut held a single card in each of his hands. Redost, taking a break from chasing a butterfly, gave a whimper to alert his master's opponent.

"Oh," Syrus said absent-mindedly. "I guess I choose the card in the right hand," he sighed.

"Nice choice. And I summon Elemental Hero Bladedge! And now Bladedge gets his own taste of your Life Points! Attack Eternal Gyroid with Attribute Sword Crushing!"

The giant orange monster made a dent in Syrus's plane.

2450/3500

"That concludes my turn."

Drawing his card, Syrus played a Spell. "Pot of Greed! This permits me to draw two cards. Then I set one monster in face-down Defense position. Your go."

"How foolish! Are you not aware that E-Hero Bladedge can deal damage to your Life Points for any defense monster it destroys?"

"Oh, no!"

"Oh, yes! Bladedge, attack Syrus' face-down monster!" And the Elemental Hero advanced to carry out this command.

But it was stopped in its tracks, when a white truck with shattered windows and dazed eyes overturned itself.

"You just attacked my Traileroid (0/????), whose DEF is equal to the attack power of whatever monster battles with it."

"Nice move. Now my attack has been wasted. But, what's this? I have 'nother monster. Thunder Giant, give his Eternal Gyroid a spin."

1800/3500

"And next turn," Sixxut intoned, "you'll adieu your plane. But now it's your move."

"I summon Submarineroid in attack mode," Syrus said, as a navy-blue boat with a yellow underside appeared on his field. "And I have him attack your Life Points directly, due to his effect."

1800/2700

"Now I can switch Submarineroid to defense mode, set a face-down, and end my turn."

"First, your plane is destroyed, thanks to Latchhook's effect."

"And you must randomly discard one card from your hand, due to Eternal Gyroid's effect."

A beam came out of Eternal Gyroid's eyes, and demolished one of Sixxut's three cards.

"Ah, that card was of no moment. But this one is. Activate Snake Syndrome!"

"What does that card do?"

"You're an alumnus of Duel Academy, the best school for duelin' in the world, and you don't know what this card does? What a simpleton! Ah, maybe they've forgotten about Egyptian cards in that place."

"Stop beating around the bush and tell me what it does already!"

"All right, all right, Syrus, don't have a bovine. Or a milk truck," Sixxut added, thinking this more relevant to his opponent's Vehicroid fetish. "Snake Syndrome burns away Life Points. During each of our standby phases, we shall lose more and more points. The first turn, which is yours, you will lose 200. When my turn begins, I shall lose 200. But the next turn the damage will double. And each turn it shall keep doublin', till one of us suffocates."

Syrus glanced at the card, worriedly. On the front, there was a picture of a man on his knees, choking in agony. Would that happen to him too, if he lost?

"And now, Bladedge attacks Submarineroid!"

1000/2700

"Activate trap, Vehicroid Tears!"

Vehicroid Tears

Normal Trap

You can only activate this card when a monster with 'Roid' in its card name on your side of the field is destroyed. Send one monster on your opponent's side of the field to the Graveyard.

"I didn't know machines had tears. It might make them a little rusty to weep."

"Stuff it, Sixxut! My card destroys Bladedge, because he just sent one of my Vehicroids to the Graveyard."

"Okay, I'll end my turn."

A purple ball of fire emerged from Snake Syndrome, and sent its blaze to Syrus' Life Points.

0800/2700

Syrus drew his card. For a moment, his eyes were blinded due to the blast from Snake Syndrome. Then he saw it, finally. "Yes!" he shouted. "Sixxut, prepare to sweat! I summon Ambulanceroid in attack mode, which allows to me to add one card in my Graveyard to my Hand, and I choose Steamroid! Then I activate Vehicroid Healer! This gives me 500 points for every monster with 'Roid' in its name on my side of the field, which totals to 1000 for Ambulanceroid and Traileroid."

1800/2700

"At last, I get to test the most powerful spell card ever created! I pay 1500 Life Points to activate Hybridization and combine the Tankroid(1400/7000 and Steamroid in my Hand together!"

0300/2700

Train At War

ATK 1400(.5) + 1800(.5) 1600

"Redost, do your thing," Sixxut whispered to his dog. The rottweiler leaped into the air, appearing as if he was going to attack Syrus, causing the latter to fall to the ground. He pounced on Syrus' Duel Disk, pressed a button, and the Graveyard opened. Redost took the Hybridization card out of it, and ran back to his master's side.

Syrus got up, brushed the dirt off his pants, and gave the dog a scathing, repulsive glance.

"Sixxut, tell your mongrel to return my card to me at once."

"Now, why would I do that? I'm the one who set him to the task."

"You did _what? _I think I need some earwax. If I'm hearing you right, you're saying that you told your dog to take my Hybridization?"

"Yes. Delightful, isn't it?"

"That's dishonest, that's what it is."

"No, it's not. I promise that you can have it back if you win the duel. But you'll have no use for it if you lose. And from my point of view, you're about to."

Syrus looked around the field. He had made an oversight. _Oh, no! _he thought. _Sixxut is right. There's no way to win. I might as well just give up._

He made a movement to surrender, but a flashback came to his mind as he stared at Elemental Hero Thunder Giant. A long time ago, he and Jaden were in a tag-team duel against the Paradox Brothers. He was about ready to forfeit, just as now. But Jaden had encouraged him. It was not over till the last card was played. At least he could go out like a man.

"You're right," Syrus said. "I'm about to lose. But I will give it my all. My monster attacks your Thunder Giant!"

"Redost, destroy Hybridization!" The dog put the card on the ground, scratched it, bit it, and ripped it into shreds.

"Noooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What did you do that for? That was an extremely rare card, and you're about to win this duel. If you didn't want to keep it, why didn't you just give it back to me, instead of destroying it?"

"The card is evil, Syrus. Whenever Hybridization is activated, it opens a door to a place called _Dracos Imaginos. _I saw it used in Little Ambark Town, which is where I hail from. Whoever loses the duel is sent there. I don't want either of us sent to that place, so I thought I'd test out a theory of mine. My theory is that if the Hybridization card that opened the gateway to _Dracos Imaginos _is destroyed during the duel, no one will have to go."

"I don't believe a word you say."

"Just know I did it for the best."

Syrus' monster attacked Thunder Giant, but it didn't leave a scratch. Then Sixxut's monster did a counterattack.

0000/2700

"Game over."

Syrus thought it was too. But then he saw Tankroid and Steamroid come out of the Graveyard.

"What the…? But you've already lost!"

"Apparently not! I guess there are some things still yet to discover about Hybridization. But anyways, my monsters attack you directly."

0000/0000

"A draw!" Sixxut exclaimed. "Well, let's just hope my maneuver worked, and the gateway to _Dracos Imaginos _has closed."

"Guess again!" Syrus said, a red gleam in his eye. "How dare you destroy my Hybridization card? That was the best card I ever had, and you annihilated it, you and your squalid friend there," pointing to Redost. "But I am boiling mad. And so, I summon Steamroid, and activate Merciless Railroad!"

"But the duel's over!"

"Of course it is. This isn't a duel, however. It's a one-way ticket to D-d-d," he had trouble saying the name. "_Dracos Imaginos!" _ After he said it, his tongue felt like it was on fire.

Sixxut glanced mournfully at his dog. He had failed. "Redost, reveal your true form."

And Syrus saw a spectacular metamorphosis. Redost, it appeared, was really a Wroughtweiler!

Both Sixxut and Wroughtweiler found themselves fastened by ligature to the train track, and Steamroid ran over them, turning their bodies into dust.

Syrus walked over to where they had disappeared. There was a card face-down. Could this be Hybridization, restored to its original condition? He turned it over. No, it was just Sixxut's Latchhook.

Staring at the card, tears began to roll down Syrus' face. Maybe Sixxut did have a good reason for destroying Hybridization. Maybe he could forgive and forget.

He felt someone tap his shoulder. "What is it, Samson?" he said, without turning around.

"Samson?" said a sweet voice, confusedly.

Syrus turned around, and saw a beautiful woman with yellow hair, whose habiliments were mostly pink and blue. "Dark Magician Girl!" he exclaimed, happily.

"You must come with me."


	6. Yellow Eyes Maroon Dragon

"**Hybrid Chronicles, The"**

**Chapter the Sixth**

Yellow Eyes Maroon Dragon 

Mokuba Kaiba and the board of directors agreed. Only one copy of Yellow Eyes Maroon Dragon should be made.

Whoever should gain ownership of the card would be decided in a tournament. The Scoten Round. It would be like the Grand Prix Tournament held countless years ago, with sixteen duelists facing off. One of the duelists invited was the King of Games, Jaden Yuki.

Everybody was geared up for the tournament. YEMD was supposed to have a spectacular effect, but information regarding this was kept top-secret. The effect was invented by Kaluzer Obutin, and he was the only person not working for KaibaCorp who knew what it was.

The Scoten Round attracted myriad spectators, and all sixteen duelists lined up, and were presented. But, before the orange and black flag was raised—which had the Universal "KC" symbol on it—Reginald ran in, frustrated and agitated.

Mokuba was speaking. "And so, without further ado, let the games, commence!"

Reginald pushed his boss out of the way, and paused before the microphone. "I have bad news, everyone. Yellow Eyes Maroon Dragon has been stolen. Therefore, I announce the untimely end of the Scoten tournament."

The crowd booed. Some people yelled in fury, for they felt that KaibaCorp had treated them with undue duplicity. They had been promised a tournament, and now there hopes were being dashed.

Jaden, who had a lot of fire in him these days, ambled over to where Mokuba was picking himself up from the ground. "You can't let this happen. I really counted on this tournament to boost my spirits; I've been feeling down in the dumps ever since the beginning of this Hybridization fever."

"Hybridization fever? What do you mean?"

"Well, Mr. Kaiba, I have a funny feeling about this card, like it makes people go crazy. I don't have one myself, and I've never seen it used against me, but something inside me feels as if the world is unbalanced. And that feeling did not start until Hybridization came out."

"It could just be indigestionmm," said Claude Emyless, a quack-chef who had entered the tournament and had overheard Jaden's talk with Mokuba.

"Jaden, I'm afraid you must be mistaken. It's just a card after all; ink on cardboard, practically. There can't be any harm in it."

"Fine! If you don't believe me, I'll go see someone who does. Beats this place, anyhow."

Cecil told the pilot to land, in Omaha, Nebraska, on the roof of the firm of Underwood and Raptor. He was going to surprise the living daylights out of the two meddlesome pests that he had heard so much about from his father. He figured they were two perfect souls to send to _Dracos Imaginos. _

But, before he could enter the elevator, a boy emerged from it. He was wearing tattered and torn clothing, and he didn't look overfed.

The boy spoke. "You are denied entrance."

"How can I be denied entrance? I'm Cecil Kaiba, son of the wealthiest game designer in the world, and some snot-nosed kid is not going to prevent me from going into this place."

"You are absent without leave, and therefore, you lose all privileges you had as a Kaiba," the boy said, snobbishly. "But if you really must go in, you'll have to defeat me in a duel."

"Raptor, Raptor, come here!"

Rex was creating a new dinosaur deck, with the Frostosaurus he had just obtained in a trade, and Horn of Summoning Reptile. Weevil, who had a bald forehead now, but green hair on the sides, was staring at the computer screens.

"What is it?" Rex asked, unpleased that he was being distracted from his task.

"Kaluzer was right. Kaiba has fallen for our trap!"

"Which Kaiba? Cecil?"

"What other Kaiba would it be? Seto is dead; remember the plane crash fourteen years ago? And Mokuba's too pragmatic; he doesn't care about us. On top of that, he has a company to run. But Cecil…Cecil is headstrong, imbued with a fire that is reminiscent of his uncle."

"Well, if Cecil is here, he must have some plan that involves me and you."

"Perhaps. But he'll never get past Kaluzer. And even if he does, we'll know his strategy."

"Fine, you're on, little tyke. But if you think I'm going easy on you because you look like a poor helpless being, think again!"

"Ooh, is Mr. Cecil Kaiba a little peachy today? Well, this _is_ the first duel he's guaranteed to lose."

"What did you say? You think I'm guaranteed to _lose _this duel? That's crazy talk. But I'm ready to see what you're made of, if you're so confident."

"And it'll be your downfall. Why don't you run away while you still can?"

"I'm not backing off!" Cecil shouted, indignantly.

"Suit yourself."

4000/4000

"I'll go first." Kaluzer said. "And I summon Yellow Eyes Maroon Dragon!"

"There's no such monster in the entire game!"

"Yes, there is. And I'm its creator!"

"Then it won't work on your Duel Disk. You think you can just create a card out of thin air, and it'll be summonable? You've got a lot to learn, kid."

"We'll see." The card was played. And, to Cecil's disbelief, he saw a dragon with dark, brownish-red scales, a long neck and a short tail, summoned to the field. Its yellow eyes seemed focused on Kaiba, and it was sniffing the air. There was something it really didn't like about Cecil.

"How on earth?"

"I told you I invented it. But KaibaCorp printed it. This is the only one that exists in the entire world."

"Why would KaibaCorp print a card by a kid in tattered rags?"

"Actually, I gave the idea to some bum who was a card designer of the company. He gave me no credit, so I stole it, because truthfully it belongs to me."

"Nobody ever wins with stolen cards."

"But it's mine! Have you not been listening? I created it, and whether I stole it or not is a moot point. Now, let's get on with this duel, shall we? I set one face-down, and then I activate the spell card Pinpoint!"

Pinpoint

Normal Spell

Select one Spell or Trap card on your side of the field. The selected card cannot be destroyed by the effects of Spell, Trap, or Monster cards.

"I choose to select my face-down, and now there's no possible way you can destroy it!"

"My move!" Cecil said. "And I summon an old pal of mine, Berserk Gorilla!"

The familiar crimson gorilla appeared. "Hello, Joshua." Kaiba said.

"Kaiba! Ice! What have you done to me?"

"Turned you into a monster card, just as I did Nolez. It was the only way to send you to _Dracos Imaginos."_

"But what is your goal in sending me and Nolez and whoever else to that place?"

"It is none of your business. But, since in your present predicament, you're in no condition to blurt out my secret, I suppose it will not hurt. I am sending people to _Dracos Imaginos _in order to revive my uncle from the Grave."

"That's the most buffoonish idea I've heard in all my life! Revive Seto Kaiba from the Grave, and all with a silly card!" Joshua the Berserk Gorilla guffawed.

"You're in no position to be ridiculing anyone. Now, do as I say and attack Yellow Eyes Maroon Dragon!"

Joshua was so busy chatting with Kaiba that he didn't notice the looming dragon on the opponent's side of the field. It was the goofiest-looking monster he had ever seen, and caused him to chuckle ever harder.

"I said attack it, not laugh at it!"

Shrugging his brawny shoulders, the Gorilla did as he was bid.

4000/3750

"I'll end my turn."

"I now summon The Bistro Butcher, than activate the Quick-Spell card, Duplication, giving up some Life Points in order to summon another The Bistro Butcher from my Deck!"

4000/2850

Now there were two blue monsters wearing the red suits of meat-cutters and holding slick, steel knives normally employed in the butchering profession.

"That's all for now!"

Cecil seemed very dubious about Kaluzer's strategy. The only reasonable conclusion was that his opponent wanted him to draw cards…but why? Even more important, why didn't he activate Yellow Eyes' special ability? Unless it was a lame vanilla monster, which he didn't see any point in playing it if it was.

"I summon Blazing Impachi in attack mode!" The burning tree that had sent Nolez to his Grave the first time Hybridization was activated, now stood on the field. "First, Berserk Gorilla attacks one of your Bistro Butchers!"

4000/2650

"Then I draw two cards. After which, Blazing Impachi attacks your other Bistro Butcher, permitting me to draw two more cards."

4000/2450

"What do you know? I have nine cards in my hand. And I think I'll activate Ring of Detriment, causing us both to lose 1000 Life Points!"

Ring of Detriment

Spell Card

Both you and your opponent lose Life Points equal to the number of monsters on your side of the field X 500.

3000/1450

"Then I set two cards face-down, and end my turn."

"My move," said Kaluzer. "I'll set one face-down monster, then conclude my turn."

"Back to me," said Cecil. "I sacrifice my Berserk Gorilla and Blazing Impachi in order to summon…Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

Fierce and violent, Kaiba's monster looked ready to rip any rival on the field to shreds.

"But that's not all! I activate my first face-down card, Card Destruction! Now I discard six cards from my hand, and you send to the Graveyard all your rubbish as well."

"Why would you send so many cards to the Grave at once?"

"Maybe because I'm searching for something important, dweeb!"

"Well, did you get it?" Kaluzer asked, after Kaiba saw his hand.

"Of course! And now I activate my other face-down, Hybridization! Red Eyes on the field and Blue Eyes in my hand will fuse together to create my all time favorite monster, Red Eyes White Dragon!"

Kaluzer feigned surprise. "Oooh, how will I combat such a powerful monster?" he said, sarcastically.

"Red Eyes White, attack his face-down, with Inferno Neutron Blast!"

A hazy cloud of fire and atomic particles emerged from the monster's breath. Kaluzer's face-down was Magician of Faith, and he chose to return Terraforming to his Hand, which had been destroyed by Kaiba's Card Destruction.

"Make your move, moron!"

"Activate face-down card, Call of the Haunted! Now I can bring back one monster from my Grave, and I choose Yellow Eyes Maroon Dragon!"

The dark reddish lizard returned for a second round of fighting. But, why? Cecil wondered. A 2700 to a 1750…it was obvious which was the stronger. Perhaps Kaluzer really didn't know how the game worked.

"Next, I activate Terraforming! This permits me to take one Field Spell from my Deck, and I choose Solitary Confinement! Then of course, I activate it!"

Solitary Confinement

Field Spell

Effect: You can only activate this when there is exactly one monster on both sides of the field. Neither player can Normal Summon, Set or Special Summon any monsters while 'Solitary Confinement' is face-up on the field. Destroy this card when at least one of the monsters that were on the field when 'Solitary Confinement' was activated, is sent to the Graveyard or otherwise removed from play.

"It's a little verbose, but basically this is what it's saying: only Red Eyes and Yellow Eyes can exist on the field, until one of them is annihilated," Kaluzer informed Kaiba. "Pretty ingenious, isn't it?"

"Not really. But I guess you can't see the folly of the whole strategy of yours. But, hey, it's your funeral."

"I'll end my turn."

"Want proof that your strategy is the lamest thing I've ever seen? Well, here it is! I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Call of the Haunted, which in effect destroys everything else on your side of the field."

The sky grew dark—it was still two P.M.—and a bolt of thunder emerged from it, striking Kaluzer's trap. Giant clouds of smoke hovered over the field, and Cecil anticipated the finishing blow.

However, when the smoke had cleared, all of Kaluzer's cards remained intact.

"What is going on?" Kaiba asked him.

"Have you forgotten already, or are you suffering from short-term memory loss? You can't destroy my Call of the Haunted trap, because of the Pinpoint Spell I played during my first turn. You have to destroy Yellow Eyes in order to get my trap."

"Fine, then! RED EYES WHITE DRAGON, ATTACK HIS MONSTER!" Cecil bellowed, unable to contain his rage at being outsmarted by a kid.

Kaiba's dragon complied with this request, and for a second it looked as if Yellow Eyes was being torn apart, limb by limb. But through a mirror of gauze, Red Eyes saw itself grinning back, while the maroon dragon became whole again. From the mirror came a cloud of atomic particles and flame, but going in the direction of Cecil, instead of Kaluzer.

0300/1450

Cecil felt enervated. His energy was being drained from him, very rapidly. It was even worse than normally, because the power contained in a Hybridized monster is much greater than that from one that isn't. Even though he had just lost 2700 Life Points, it was as if he had lost 5400. At least, theoretically, if you think about Hybridization's effect. But many more factors were involved: for instance, the fact that it was Kaiba's own Hybridized monster who had attacked him, and not his opponent's. That doubled the "perceived damage" to 10,800. And yet, it was much more than that. For instance, there was that mysterious dragon with Yellow Eyes.

He was on his knees, and all the wind was out of him.

"What's the matter? Can't get up? Didn't I tell you that you were going to lose this duel? Just surrender, Cecil. Give up this foolish, quixotic dream of reviving your uncle. He's dead, in the Graveyard like your Blue Eyes White Dragon! Of course, you're about to go to _Dracos Imaginos_, so you need not listen to me. I hope this will be a lesson to you."

"See, Rex? I told you he was going to lose!"

"It's not over yet!" the Dino-freak pointed out.

"Yeah, well, that Cecil Kaiba is just as imbecilic as his dead uncle."

"Who are you calling an imbecile?" said a voice from behind them.

Weevil and Rex turned round, tremulous and apprehensive. "Why, it can't be?" they asked, simultaneously. "But you're dead!"

"How many times do I have to go through with this? Oh well, faking one's death is a good excuse for exploring Egypt. Hey, what's on?" Seto walked over to the screen, and saw Cecil on his knees, Red Eyes White Dragon hovering behind him, and a thirteen-year-old with some maroon dragon in front of him.

For a split-second, Seto was struck by the peculiar resemblance his nephew had to him. But he felt such chagrin that someone whose blood was so close was groveling on the ground like a common swine.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Seto asked Weevil and Rex, who were sneaking out the door. "We have unfinished business to settle."

"We do?" the two firm-owners gulped.

"Yes, we do. First, a present from Egypt." He handed each a necklace with a scarab beetle attached.

"What do we do with these?"

"Put them on."

Seeing no alternative, the two of them obeyed.

"And now it's time to break the two of you up forever!" Seto said, taking out his Duel Disk. "I activate Partition of Disparity!"

A giant wall appeared, starting as an outgrowth from either side of the room and then sliding through the inch that separated Underwood from Raptor.

"Rex, can you hear me? Rex!"

"Weevil, where are you?"

Both were beating vehemently on their respective positions of the wall.

"Who's the imbecile now? Turn around and face me like the poltroon you are!" Both heard Seto say this, and they each prepared for the inevitable duel.

"Whoever loses to me first, shall suffer a pain unknown to mortal man for five millennia! But whoever is still standing after the first has lost, shall be left as prey to my nephew, and the sole proprietor of the firm of Underwood and Raptor. And now, let the duels, commence!"

Ten minutes had elapsed before Cecil was able to regain conscious control of his senses. If he had been at a tournament, he would've been disqualified. "Explain what just happened," he demanded

"You've backed yourself into a corner. I'm sure you were wondering why I didn't use Yellow Eyes' effect earlier? Well, you see, that's because the effect only kicks in when a certain card is played: Hybridization. Here's how it works: whenever a Hybridized monster attacks Yellow Eyes Maroon, the attack is deflected and the controller of the Hybridized monster loses Life Points equal to said monster's ATK."

"That's a rather keen move, for a kid. And you invented the card yourself, or so you claimed at the commencement of our duel. Something to combat the most powerful card ever created. Well, well, well. So Red Eyes White is useless to me, for now. And I can't summon anything, and I can't destroy your Call of the Haunted. I am in a pretty bad fix, aren't I?"

"I should say you are!"

"Yes, well, you can't force me to attack, and therefore this duel can go on forever. I'll just end my turn."

Kaluzer drew his card, and ended his own turn.

For the next three turns, all they did was draw cards. Then finally, "I activate Heavy Storm!" Cecil shouted. "I know it won't get rid of your Call of the Haunted, but Solitary Confinement is history!"

The boy watched passively as his Field Spell went caput.

"And now, meet Norgi the Light Clown!"

Nolez was summoned with no warning, and he was drinking an ice-cold lemonade.

"Drop the beverage, Nolez. You're in a duel, and you need to mind your manners."

"Ooh! Are we about to send someone else to _Dracos Imaginos? _How fun!" he said sarcastically.

Cecil ignored him. "I activate Geiger Counter! Then I end my turn."

"Aren't you going to be polite and tell me what Geiger Counter does? Oh well, I guess I'll have to learn the hard way. Yellow Eyes Maroon, attack Norgi, or should I say Nolez?"

"Not so fast! Thanks to Geiger Counter, by discarding one card in my Hand, I can switch Norgi for a Monster from my Graveyard, and I choose Berserk Gorilla. However, because of Geiger Counter's effect, your attack goes direct to my gorilla because my card doesn't recognize changes in monster lineups."

Subsequently, Yellow Eyes Maroon Dragon was destroyed.

0300/1200

Berserk Gorilla was switched out again for Norgi.

"I set one face-down monster, and give the duel to you."

"This shall be the last turn of the duel! Now, Nolez, I'm sorry I'm going to have to do this, but I must sacrifice you in order to summon Trumpeteer Dragon!"

"No, you're not sorry," Nolez said solemnly. A millisecond later he was replaced by a teal dragon with a tuba instead of a snout.

Trumpeteer Dragon

LV 6/ Dragon/ EARTH

ATK: 2200 DEF: 800

Effect: When this monster attacks a monster with a FLIP effect, take out Life Points from your opponent equal to the DEF of this monster. (This effect occurs before the FLIP is activated.)

"My Trumpeteer attacks your face-down!"

Old Vindictive Magician revealed itself.

0300/0400

"I'll destroy Trumpeteer Dragon with my monster's special ability. I see no point in taking out Red Eyes White, even though either way, I've lost."

"Right you are! So my Hybridized monster sends you packing!"

0300/0000

Kaluzer was disconsolate.

"Oh, don't feel bad, little tyke. You did your best, and you should have no regrets. Besides, the very best thing in the world is about to happen to you. You're going to _Dracos Imaginos, _in the form of the card you created. For I desire to add Yellow Eyes Maroon Dragon to my collection! Joshua, Nolez, come out!"

Once again, the gorilla and the clown were called upon. "Which one of you would like to do the honors?" Cecil asked them.

Neither one of them sprang forward in ecstasy.

"What's this? No volunteers? Fine, then. I'll choose. Joshua, it's up to you. But first, I'll activate Rare Metalmorph!"

The gorilla's skin color quickly altered from crimson and orange to steely gray. "Joshua, crush him with your metal fists!"

Joshua could not control his actions. It was as if he were being propelled by an invisible force, as he rolled his aluminum fingers together and started beating Kaluzer in the head. The fusillade of metallic arms swinging in the boy's face combined with his tears made a truly pathetic sight. Eventually, Kaluzer was no more.

Cecil picked up the Yellow Eyes Maroon Dragon card, and pocketed it. It would certainly serve its purpose better on his side.


End file.
